Power of Three
by Blue Lone Wolf 2574
Summary: What if there weren't just one, but three Shepards? One for each choice, all for the same goal. Hoping to save the galaxy and maybe finding love along the way. Oh the possibilites. The game you know, with three times the twists and turns. FemShepxGarrus, MShepxTali, MShepxUndecided. Rated M for future content.
1. Chapter 1: Eden Prime

Hey everybody! Blue here with another ME fic that I finally broke down to write. I know, I know, I've already got a few up that aren't finished but this is one I've been itching to do for a while. I see this as an interim project anyway so just bear with me here. I fully intend on this being a FemShepxGarrus and an MShepxTali but with not two but three Shepard sibs, I'm a little torn on who the third pairing should be. And yes, I plan on having Nihlus survive. His role in the first game was way too short if you ask me. Maybe when you guys read this, you'll help me figure it out. Again just bear with me and hopefully it'll all come out right. Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

"_Iii_" = radio speech

_Iii_ = thought

Chapter 1: Eden Prime

Lieutenant Commander Ranleigh Shepard stood at one of the few windows of the prototype starship SSV Normandy, or SR1 depending on who you spoke to. Standing at a rather daunting 6'5", Ranleigh needed such height if his enemies were going to fall to his biotic skills or his sharp shooting. And if those weren't enough, he always had his fists. Looking out into the abyss of space like he'd always done as a kid, he easily ignored the ogling all the female crew members were giving him easily. If anything their attention was because of his large size and appeasing looks, while men just looked at him with envy, sometimes with the same looks women gave him. Brown hair cut short so that most of it came over his forehead, a small beard on his chin all with matching rosewood eyes, it was hard for most to believe he was the famous Commander Hayden Shepard's younger brother. As kids, their parents had taken equal note of everything they did, Hayden as well as Bercan the youngest and himself. Just like Hayden and himself, Bercan had been dragged onto the Normandy for its shakedown run. A red flag if the LC ever saw one. As the second oldest, and the oldest boy, quite a bit of expectation was pressed down on him. Expectations he took just like a hailstorm of bullets with his biotic barrier active: like none of it could touch him. A tactic he'd, thankfully, had yet to resort to in battle. The sound of boots on the metal floor plating brought Ranleigh out of his thoughts, making him turn to face his only sister Hayden as she came to stand next to him. at an average height of 5'4", Hayden looked as average as they came: her brown hair cut to her chin in accordance with Alliance regs and swept lazily out of her face in a slight curve, silver grey eyes bright as they were sharp with an underlying intelligence that got her to her current rank. Just like the women stared at him, all the men stared at her. Until he glared at them, making them turn away like rats from sunlight coming down on them for the first time.

"There you are. You comin' the cockpit?" Hayden asked, keeping her voice down for only them to hear.

Lifting his large shoulders in a shrug, Ranleigh moved to follow as she began to walk on towards the bow of the ship. "I don't see why not." As they passed the terminals, he gave her a questioning glance. "You see Bercan yet?"

A part of him winced when his sister's delicate lips twisted in a frown. "Yeah and he's not happy."

"He'll settle down. He always does." Ranleigh assured her, but in a way himself. Since surviving Akuze, Bercan rarely spoke if not at all. Their youngest brother was dangerously close to impaired if not for his willingness to function as part of the engineering crew with the head engineer Adams. The twenty-two year old ensign had been the tech expert of his team, but the mission to Akuze had changed him from the kind, soft-spoken young man they remembered to a recluse who even then still had trouble sleeping.

Hayden's frown deepened, her brow knotted with disapproval. "Not this time. He was really anxious. Check on him later?"

"You bet." Ranleigh said in his usual, timber voice. Looking ahead, his own face shifted into irritation. "Ugh it's that guy again." Standing behind the pilot's chair was their VIP passenger and the reason for his unease was Nihlus Kryik, his black and red armor matching his almost black plates and pure white facial markings. Eyes small but vibrant as they were attentive were a shocking color green.

"Be nice." Hayden warned lower than normal, both knowing that turians could hear better than any other Council race. Stepping into the cockpit to stand next to the turian, just behind the pilot seat, she greeted him politely. "Spectre Kryik."

"Commander, lieutenant commander." The turian's dual-toned voice responded with the same courtesy, glancing back at Ranleigh, who had hung back near the doorway to the fairly confined space.

"LC is just fine sir." He responded calmly, ignoring the female ensign and her deep blush as he examined her terminal's holographic screen. Being a biotic, his skills lay in combat but he liked to have some idea on what to look for should worse come to worse in terms of navigating the ship.

Nihlus stared for a few brief seconds, nodding at this information in the tell-tale way turians gave away their unfamiliarity with human mannerisms and speech patterns. Instead, he went on in the same polite tone. "Of course." Turning to the windows ahead, he and Hayden watched as the giant mass relay got closer and closer, the pilot's hands moving quick and in time with the ship's displays. As they got closer, his muttering was hard to follow but in the end, the entire ship seemed to stretch before becoming enveloped in the familiar blue rippling of FTL flight. Glancing down at the man readjusting his position in his chair, Nihlus spoke with a firm voice, barely hinting at his approval of what he'd just witnessed. "Well done, you should take pride in your work. Your captain should commend you on your skills. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to see if he's available."

"I hate that guy." Jeff 'Joker' Moreau grumbled as the turian practically marched down the walkway and towards the CIC, his armored back glistening in the artificial lights.

Sitting in the chair next to his, staff lieutenant Kaidan Alenko gave the pilot a puzzled look. "He just paid you a compliment…and you hate him?"

Leaning back in the chair, Joker scoffed loudly, bright green eyes flashing. "Oh please! I just got us into a mass relay stream the size of a pinhead. You're lucky if you remember to zip up your pants after usin' the can. I'm lucky if I don't break a hip doin' the same thing."

This didn't keep the raven-haired biotic from staring at him as if he were crazy. "You got a compliment from Nihlus, one of the Council's most prospective Spectres, yet you're acting like he just gave you the finger! Sometimes I don't get you, man." The man declared, his dark brown orbs all but glaring at his terminal screen.

"_Joker, what's our eta to Eden Prime?_" a rough voice asked through the ship's comm., distracting the scraggly bearded pilot from making another snarky remark.

"Roughly two hours sir, and look out for Nihlus comin' your way." He informed the voice with just the barest hint of respect. Captain Anderson was by far the one man on the whole ship they respected the most, and the reason they'd all been recruited for the Normandy's shakedown mission. Joker profusely called it 'drafting'.

"_He's already here._" Anderson's gruff voice sounded annoyed over the line, making Joker shake his head at not seeing that particular response coming. "_Inform Commander Shepard to come to the comm. room._" He ordered before the line went dead.

"Now you made him mad, just what I need." Hayden grumbled, though the curve of her lips told all she wasn't annoyed herself.

Turning in his chair, Joker grinned like an idiot. "You can take him commander, no sweat. Ol' Anderson's a grouch anyway."

This earned him a smirk and a twist of his SR-1 baseball cap, forcing the invalid to shout 'hey!' after her, which she pointedly ignored as she too headed back towards the CIC and thus the debriefing room just past it. Watching it all with an air of amusement, Ranleigh couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, the rough noise earning him more than a few stares. To be expected since he rarely expressed himself beyond simple responses and hard looks.

"Did you just laugh?" the pilot remarked with an awestruck look, his mussed up hair looking like he'd just gotten out of bed.

Ranleigh's smirk was a ghostly expression that died quickly. "Yes."

Joker stared, his jaw a bit slack. "Yet I feel like I should wet myself…please tell me you're not a super villain in your off hours."

"Shut up Joker." Ranleigh said, voice lacking emotion as he turned to leave.

Joker's mouth snapped shut as he put his cap back on and turned back to his console, somehow hiding the shiver of fear in his eyes. "Right, shutting up."

As he walked away, Ranleigh could hear Kaidan chuckling, Joker grumbling as most joined in at his expense. But he ignored it in favor of seeing his sister talking to the ship's medic, Dr. Karin Chakwas and one of the young officers. Richard Jenkins his mind provided as the marine shifted in obvious excitement. He vaguely remembered feeling that way on his first mission, most of it anxiety rather than joy. Coming to a stop by one of the open consoles along the holo-interface, Ranleigh busied himself with the readings, once again ignoring one or two crew members who stared at his unusual height. Since the past hundred years had made it difficult to make one's ethnicity overly distinctive, racial divides had since vanished completely in favor of more basic labels like rich or poor, smart or ignorant. Sadly gender was still a tough issue but in general terms all were accepted. Including him, despite his unusually intense growth spurts as a teenager that caused him to be one of the tallest humans on record. If they stood side by side, Ranleigh knew he stood a bit taller than Nihlus, topping the turian by perhaps half a foot. But all that didn't mean that humanity coming onto the galactic scene didn't cause an uproar either: where color and origin no longer mattered, what species you were drew all the age-old suspicion and hate needed to make most humans look at their new neighbors with looks of disgust. From experience, he, Hayden and even his brother knew these to be baseless. Aside from slavers and pirates, most aliens were actually trustworthy and honorable. Much like Nihlus but it wasn't that he was a turian that Ranleigh found to be an issue. It was the fact that he was a Council Spectre on a human/turian designed ship for a reason that most certainly wasn't to see how the ship performed. Looking up, Ranleigh saw his sister finally get past the doctor and the marine in favor of the comm. room where Nihlus had vanished. Bringing his gaze back down to the console, Ranleigh put himself to use by fiddling with the controls. He wasn't a tech but he knew his way around, and it didn't hurt to get familiar with the systems if they ever got into a pinch.

Hayden hated being kept in the dark but kept her suspicions under wraps. Or at least she had until Anderson finally met her and Nihlus in the comm. room to debrief them on what their real reason for the shakedown was. A deep chill settled in her bones when the vid from the human colony came in, her unexpected recommendation to the Spectres a minor bump in the road compared to the devastation she saw in the few seconds of film. Wandering around the lush hills with gun in hand that, maybe hours or even days earlier had been peaceful and untouched, were pocked with black blots from explosions and small spots of fire. Upon first touching down, she and Kaidan had stared at the odd, floating masses of cream and yellow bulbs, their pale pink tendrils hanging down as they lazily hung without any sort of palpable suspension. 'Gas bags' he'd called them, even told them to 'pop' one. Having pointed her rifle at it, Hayden almost jumped a mile high when it exploded with a loud _bang!_ Like an old rubber balloon when you took a pin to it. Aside from that, the trio was able to ignore them. Pain gripped at her heart at the thought of seeing Jenkins go down when the turrets had appeared, their bullets cutting through his shields like they were tissue paper. Whether or not her remaining companion saw her tears of regret she didn't know, and as she cut down another of the odd beings shooting at them, she didn't particularly care. Hiding behind a rock some distance away was a female marine she recognized from the vid sent to the Normandy who was now trying to get up and shoot back after running for who knew how long. Too much of this reminded her of Elysium. Except the targets weren't batarian, and these machines seemed intent on taking no prisoners.

After a few tense minutes the fighting ended, leaving her, Kaidan and the female marine with ample opportunity to get properly acquainted. Dressed in what looked like light Phoenix armor with its oddly pink and white coloring, the woman approached and snapped into a quick salute. Her rough voice and dark brown eyes, along with her stance, quickly told Hayden she was looking at a hardened soldier and not a raw rookie. "Thanks for the help ma'am. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, at your service. Am I glad to see a friendly face aside from all these light bulb heads."

"Commander Shepard and Lt. Alenko of the Normandy, glad we could help. What's the situation?"

"Just a regular day, but sideways: at first no one knew what was going on. That ship just came out of nowhere, and then all these mechs showed up, started killing everybody they saw. It was a massacre. My unit did the best we could to hold them off but now I'm the only one left. If I didn't know any better, I'd say these things were geth."

"Geth? That's impossible! Those things haven't gone beyond the Perseus Veil in over 300 years. Why would they come here, now?"

"Crazy right? But I have to say they're after the beacon."

"That's what we're here to retrieve. Maybe you can lead us to where it is."

"Sure thing, it's just up the hill at the dig site where they found it. Give me ample opportunity to get those bastards back for killing my teammates."

"Keep it steady chief, we've got to get moving if we're going to get that beacon. See if they're anyone left to talk to."

"Yes ma'am."

They then went back up the road, saw the spikes. Holy shit those damn spikes and what they produced. Killing the not-zombies had been hard, not to mention troubling. Why would the geth put live people on them? What purpose did it serve? Those questions had to wait for they ran into what few colonists were left. Turned out a pair of scientists were still around. Dr. Warren, the woman was clearly in control of her senses though there was no denying she was afraid. Her companion, Dr. Manuel seemed a bit out of touch which Hayden ignored. Not that it was his fault after all, as Dr. Warren pointed out, genius had a price. In a way the man reminded her of Bercan but she quickly pushed it down. Bercan was just withdrawn not…scrambled like this man was. In the end she got the information she wanted and moved on, telling them to wait in the shack until help arrived. At the dig site, Hayden ground her teeth as more geth popped up, forcing them to take cover and shoot them before being able to examine the exposed space. Off to the side, she heard Williams comment that the beacon must've been taken to the starport for transport as she led them up and away. The walk was peaceful for once until the gunshot that echoed over them, making Hayden's blood run cold. Dealing with the farmers they encountered went by in a blur for her, pressing them for any tech and weapons which they gave with some persuasion. From there, getting to the starport looked easy…if not for all the geth troopers all over the place. Killing them took time, and the body lying on the metal plating of the supply deck was too ominous to ignore. Cutting past their opponents, Hayden felt a rush of relief to find it wasn't just Nihlus, he was alive if wounded.

"Here, just lie still." She soothed as the down turian tried to move, his breath heavy and wet, ragged as he struggled to breathe. Opening a pack of medigel from one of her pouches, Hayden spread as much of it over the wound in his side as best she could, watching him relax as the goop did its job. His breathing quickly became easier as he slumped in relief.

A scrap to the side drew their attention, making them all turn to its source behind a bunch of crates. "Movement!" Williams bit out as she pointed her gun at the organized mess.

"Check it out!" Hayden growled back, spreading more medigel over the fallen turian's wounds, glancing up at her other team member. "Alenko, cover us."

"Yes ma'am." The biotic retorted, Avenger rifle in hand as he stood ready to shoot anything that dared rise against him.

Off to the side, Williams was practically dragging a man out from behind the box piles, his hands in the air. "Whoa, whoa no need for that! I'm comin' out!"

"Who are you? Did you see what happened to this turian?" Hayden demanded, rising from his side, satisfied she'd done what was needed.

The man, an average looking human, kept his hands up as he glanced between the guns pointed at him. "I'm Powell, I work here. I nap here sometimes to catch up on sleep. I'm unarmed, promise."

"Powell, part the gun smuggling ring?" Kaidan queried.

The man's face fell. "Dammit it's just a side thing I swear! No one's gonna miss a few extra pistols and grenades."

Williams gave him a hard poke with her own rifle, what amount of her face visible through the helmet twisted in righteous anger. "You idiot! Some people could've used those against this hell we're in!"

"Calm down, he's not worth it. He's going to stay here and watch over Nihlus until back up arrives. Then he can be put under arrest for theft and smuggling charges." Hayden cut in, not bothering to point her own gun at the man. They way Powell cowered at the fury in her eyes was warning enough. "You run, and I really will shoot you. Got me?"

"I get it, I get it! I won't go nowhere!" Powell stammered, practically on edge of wetting himself in the face of her wrath.

Taking a quiet breath, Hayden backed off, holding the man in place with her steady glare that was as steely as their color. "Now tell me, who attacked this turian?"

"Another turian, never seen him before now since it's mostly humans here. All grey, real scary lookin', nasty vibe so I stayed put. Could almost swear he was half machine cuz he had some comin' up from his neckline." Powell stated with a bit more confidence though subdued.

Hayden mulled over this information for a few seconds before going on to ask. "Did this turian do anything?"

Powell nodded with some enthusiasm, pointing down to Nihlus, who was watching them all with tired eyes. "Yeah, he and this one, Nihlus you called him, came up to each other and spoke. Sounded real surprised to see each other too, and I heard 'em talkin'. The guy called him 'Saren', didn't seem bothered by him." the dock worker cringed at the memory as he went on, too caught up in his tale to notice. "Then he turns around and the other turian pulls a gun! He must've sensed it cuz he moved outta the way in time. Nearly shit myself watchin' 'em beat the shit outta each other. Then the Saren guy gets a good shot in, made that big ol' hole you just patched up and ran off when he saw you on the hill. Then all those mechs came to try and stop you. I got some extra medigel over here if he needs it."

Next to her, Kaidan looked thoughtful. "Saren Arterius. Why would one Spectre try to kill another? Especially his own student? Somethin' doesn't add up commander."

"Yeah, and now we get to go find out." Glaring at Powell again, Hayden let her voice drop a cold-toned octave. "Help him hide, keep him healthy until help arrives. If one of us comes back to find that you're gone, I'll hunt you down myself."

"Just take the tram to the starport, over there. That's where the other turian went. I won't try to leave, promise." Powell said with an exaggerated nod, pointing to the side. Sure enough there was a cart like train waiting on the long tracks leading off into the distance. "There are even some grenades here if you need 'em."

From his spot on the ground, Nihlus managed to speak. "Go get 'em Shepard." He coughed, holding his side in pain but still spoke past it. "I'll be fine. Recover the beacon."

She nodded for Powell to move, the dock worker shuffling over to a box to pull out the grenades as he promised, giving them each a few. Giving Nihlus a nod of his own, Hayden spoke in a purely professional voice. "Yes sir. Let's move out." Hayden told them, giving another medigel pack to the dock worker prior to drawing her pistol, heading right for the tram in a steady march.

"We've got your six." Kaidan responded behind her as he and Williams moved to follow. Hayden didn't look away from Nihlus until Powell knelt next to him, applying some of the medigel with a fair amount of expertise.

The ride to the starport was filled with more excitement than Hayden would've liked, what with all the gunfire, explosions and the damn geth coming from nowhere to try and stop them from going any further. If that wasn't enough, the bombs were another unpleasant surprise she could've done without. After that, even more fighting the annoyingly persistent geth just to get to the beacon, which was thankfully untouched and intact. Even more so, it was letting off an odd green light that shifted and swirled almost like a fog off the pillar of metal. As they looked around for more opponents, Williams commented that the beacon had been deactivated when they'd found it and had no clue on why it was active. Finding no more geth and Saren nowhere to be found, Hayden was making her report when she noticed that Alenko was acting strangely. Almost like he was struggling against something. That's when she noticed that the beacon was glowing and pulsing with energy.

_Oh shit!_ Was her thought as she ran forward, calling his name, grabbing hold of him and tossing him aside only to feel the tug of the beacon as it lifted her up. Pain quickly consumed her senses, strange images and horrible screams dominated everything. After what she didn't know how long, it became too much and all went black. She didn't feel a thing when she hit the ground, unable to hear the two marines calling her name.

Ranleigh was livid. Not only had the mission to Eden Prime gone sideways, his only sister nearly lost her life to an ancient hunk of junk and was on edge of losing her mind. He was going to lose his if she didn't wake up and reassure both him and Bercan that she was okay. When Bercan had heard she was in the med bay, his reaction had been less than accepting. Last he knew, Adams and the other engineers were still trying to coax him out of his hiding spot under his bunk. He would've gone to help but he was angry and his brother seeing him angry wouldn't help things. He was angry with Anderson and Nihlus for not telling anyone what was really going on but he was most furious with Alenko. In hind sight, the L2 biotic really couldn't be blamed for thinking the beacon was safe to approach but if his dejected slouching was to go by, he felt guilty either way. The sound of the automatic doors swishing open diverted his attention to the med bay's entrance, where his sister came walking out. Aside from looking a bit pale, she looked no worse for the wear. He would've gone to talk to her if Anderson didn't appear behind her, waving for him to come in. nodding at his captain, Ranleigh got up from his chair to obey, pausing long enough to give his sister a hard look. "Check on Bercan and get some rest. You look like shit."

"That bad huh?" Hayden muttered back, her lips barely curved in a tired smile.

"It really is." Ranleigh stated bluntly, pointing a thumb at Kaidan like the man was an afterthought. "Get going. Don't let that dope hold you up."

At that her smile spread, letting out quiet chuckles as she moved away. "Be nice!"

"Nice? What's that?" he queried, earning more chuckles. Letting the door shut behind him, Ranleigh faced the dark skinned Anderson still standing by where his sister had been laid up the past few hours. Giving the older man a calm look, Ranleigh's voice rumbled in the quiet of the infirmary. "You wanted to see me sir?"

Nodding, the captain appeared grave as he spoke. "Yes, I did. Your sister and I are going to see the Council when we get to the Citadel and I want you to stay here with Pressly to watch over the ship."

"I'm not going sir?" Ranleigh asked, his face marred by hints of confusion.

"No, I need you here to watch the ship."

"You mean our brother." He retorted, a part of him hating the fact his younger sibling was seen as an issue.

A look of true regret passed over the older man's face, his dark eyes clouded by regret at how the subject of their discussion had ended up. "As much as I hate to say it, yes. I didn't like uprooting him like I did but this ship needs any specialists of the highest order and despite his condition he fits the bill. No one thought Joker would fit as pilot but he got the posting anyway."

Ranleigh let out a dry laugh. "Only because he hijacked the ship and you supported him."

Anderson chuckled in turn, nodding his agreement. "An interesting turn of events, that's for certain. But that's beside the point. My point is, you're the most experienced man I've got aside from Pressly. Plus, I trust you to keep things under control. You clearly have your father's restraint since you haven't tried to the throttle me yet."

"I'll take that as a compliment sir." Ranleigh stated neutrally.

That got Anderson chuckling again, smiling a little too. "I'm sure you will. Neither of us knows what the Council will say when we report in but I need someone I can trust here to make sure the Normandy isn't snatched from us. For now, I have to write this up. Be sure to get plenty of rest before we get there."

"Yes sir."Ranleigh said respectfully as the captain moved to leave.

The aging captain gave Chakwas a nod of acknowledgment. Two professionals giving each other their due respect. "Doctor."

"Anderson." Chakwas returned with the same courtesy before turning back to her work, pointedly ignoring the only other two people left in the room.

Lying in bed, having watched it all in patient silence, Nihlus watched Ranleigh as the large man turned to look at him in turn. Calmly approaching the bed where the wounded Spectre lay, Ranleigh only stared as the turian began to speak. "For what it's worth, I had no idea what the beacon would do if it was active. All I knew was there was a beacon in perfect condition I had to help retrieve and little else. Anything else is classified. I'm sorry." He paused, as though waiting for a certain kind of response. When Ranleigh didn't move, or speak, Nihlus looked up at him questioningly. "Isn't this the point you try to break something?"

"I would but you're in the med bay and patients aren't to be disturbed or agitated. Once out though…you're fair game. Hopefully you'll be able to find a way to keep me from killing you for almost killing my only sister." Ranleigh informed him in a disturbingly neutral tone, only making the turian's mandibles twitch at how almost deathly calm the man over him was. "As I'm sure you can imagine, having any of the Shepard family mad at you is a dangerous thing."

If he was afraid, the turian was a master at hiding it. "So I'm discovering. I'll keep that in mind next I recruit you and your siblings for top secret work. Either way, I'm sure you'll be delighted to know I'm planning on giving your sister an impressive report on her actions. She's not at fault for the beacon destroying itself, and having done everything else right, I don't see why she shouldn't become a Spectre herself."

"Nice to know you're already on the right track. Get well soon sir." He responded, deep voice suddenly pleasant. "If you ever need a sparring partner when you get out of here, I'm your man. Have a pleasant day doctor." Ranleigh said to the grey-haired woman as he exited at a casual pace.

Smiling as he left, Chakwas responded easily. "You as well LC." The door shut soon after, leaving the pair alone. "And if he does manage to hurt you while sparring, at the very least you can expect it to be from a clean move. Whether it's an accident or not depends on his mood but I think you've managed to win some points with him."

Nihlus let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as the elderly woman got up to scan him with her omni-tool. "Are you sure? I thought for certain he was going to suffocate me with my pillow."

Standing above him, Chakwas let out an amused chuckle. "Ranleigh is a few things but he's not a murderer. And he's certainly not about to kill a Spectre, certainly not one as qualified as you, all simply because he's angry at him for withholding the truth about his mission. Now you rest easy. I need to be sure you're ready to be transferred to the hospital when we arrive."

"Good enough for me. If his sister is accepted, I'll need you to patch me up in case he really does let loose on me." Nihlus stated as the human doctor activated the IV he was connected to, the machine obeying her order to distribute its drug supply.

"On that, I'll do my best." The woman stated, giving him a reassuring pat on the arm before moving away. A wave of her omni-tool dimmed the lights. "Have a good rest Mr. Kryik."

"Night Dr. Chakwas." He murmured as he felt the pain killers kick in, sending him into a dreamless sleep without a fight.

Bercan didn't like feeling upset but he was. Most new things disturbed him in ways they shouldn't and he hated it. At least his family had understood when he refused to talk about Akuze, about what happened. Even Captain Anderson had gone out of his way to make sure others understood him when he got a new posting. If not for his willingness to work in spite of his past ordeal, the Alliance would've tossed him years ago. But even they knew better than to toss away a Shepard like trash. Oh no, the Shepards were like the Victus clan from the Turian Hierarchy: war was in their blood, bred and built for the field. It was bad enough he could barely leave the ship except when on leave to go get personal items he didn't want others to get for him, to take pity on him. Now he was given yet another new post, but the only upsides he saw were that Anderson was in charge and his siblings had been dragged along for the ride. Shoved against the cool metal wall under his bunk, Bercan scowled at the shadows that surrounded him at the thought of his sister getting hurt. Despite being there for over three hours, the cool metal panels still felt good on the scar running through this left eyebrow. Most were surprised whatever caused it didn't nick his eye in the process. He never took news of one of his older siblings getting hurt very well. It was why he was 'hiding' so to speak. Adams and some of the other engineering staff had given up over an hour ago. He wouldn't come out, not even for his favorite sweet, a fresh chocolate chip cookie. He wasn't Scooby-Doo. Simply bribing him wasn't going to work this time. And he wasn't in the mood for food anyway so their attempts were pointless.

"Bercan? You still under there buddy?" a familiar voice queried gently.

He turned to look at the other side of the bunk, and in turn what little of the room he could see. Kneeling next to his bunk was none other than his big sister Hayden. Silver grey eyes that matched his stared in at him, worry in their depths. Much to his surprise, she looked tired. His sister rarely looked tired unless she'd been up longer than she planned or she worked too hard during training. But this was more than just tired, it was mental exhaustion too. It made him scowl at the thoughts of just what his only sister had endured. She must've seen it because she was soon smiling tiredly at him. "I know, I got a little reckless but I'm okay. Really I am. Chakwas just let me go and everything. Now will you come out now?"

Bercan thought this over. If Chakwas had released her, then that meant she was more or less healthy. Other than looking horribly tired, he could see nothing wrong with her. After a tense moment, he finally nodded, shifting to wriggle out of the enclosed space. Hayden moved to let him out, extending her hand to help him up. Much like Ranleigh, he towered over her but only by a few inches. Also much like their brother, Bercan shared a muscular physique, yet a bit wirier than bulky flesh. Coming to his full height with her help, Bercan stood over her at a modest 5'10", again another cross between his older siblings. He shared the brown hair they had though he was clean shaven, his hair kept short with only a few strands sticking up at the front. He felt a tad foolish as he stood there and let Hayden brush off what little dust his uniform had picked up, moving to get rid of some of it himself so to make it all less awkward. When they finished, she smiled a little more brightly at him. "There. Are you hungry? It's been few hours since you went down there."

He shook his head. He didn't want food now, at least not for a while. Instead he looked at his sister carefully, still uncertain if she was just hiding any injuries or not. Hayden blinked at his scrutiny before smiling again, letting a chuckle escape. "I'm fine, honest. That beacon just knocked me out, that's all."

Something in the way she said it told him she was hiding something but he knew she'd tell him eventually so he just nodded. Her smile became less forced when he did. "Good. I just wanted to check on you before I went to bed. Get something to eat soon okay? Ranleigh should be by to see you."

Again Bercan nodded, again accepting her words. He hadn't seen Ranleigh since he'd come on board and it was starting to bother him a little. Whenever he got a new posting, both of his siblings sent messages to him, or just got him on the vid. Even their mother, Hannah, gave him a call to check up on him. Getting those calls always cheered him up when he was sent someplace new, especially now that he had yet again been transferred. The hiss of the door leading to the bunk room caught his attention, making him look up and Hayden turn for them both to see Ranleigh stroll in. in spite of his size, his older brother could move with a stealth that was disturbingly uncanny. Another reason why he hadn't noticed Hayden coming in to see him, she moved with an equally uncanny silence ever since they were kids. Hoping to emphasize his displeasure with the larger man, Bercan frowned dejectedly, earning yet another chuckle from his sister. "Uh-oh, looks like you're in trouble Ranleigh."

Ranleigh scowled in turn, his normally straight features knotted in regret. "I know, I know, you're mad I didn't come see you. But I was still getting my bearings, same as you. I didn't mean to ignore you. Forgive me?"

Bercan folded his arms, still frowning. Next to him, Hayden only shook her head. "No point. Adams said they tried with his cookies but he wouldn't budge. You might have to try something else."

"Figured as much. Which is why I have this: that game you've been really wanting to play." The larger man activated his omni-tool, the glowing orange gauntlet starting up a small display window with a flashy title going across it.

The sight of it got his siblings' attention, both staring in wonderment as Hayden voiced it for them both. "Ooh I heard about that one. You got it already?"

"I know a guy." Ranleigh stated vaguely, his smile a welcome sight. "What do ya say? Wanna give it a go? It'll be a few hours before we get to the Citadel."

Bercan openly stared at the display same a child would stare at a new toy in a store window. The adult in him chided him for skipping work for so long while his inner child demanded that the new game be discovered same as exploring an alien planet. After a moment, Bercan gave his older sibling a cocky grin with a nod. Seeing it brightened his sister's face, glancing between them in anticipation. "Looks like we've got a challenge. Well you two have fun, I'm going to try and get some sleep. Be sure he eats." She said as she gave them both a half-hug and moved to leave, leaving the two by themselves.

"Right." Ranleigh acknowledged before facing his opponent. "Let's see if you've still got it."

Bercan's answer was to crack his knuckles, earning a deep laugh from his older brother, the two settling down on the bunk. Activating his own omni-tool, the game quickly appeared on it and the two quickly got to playing after sifting through the tutorial. They spent the entire trip to the Citadel playing, exaggerated game noises filling the quiet of the room around them.

Ugh man glad that's over. Well? What do you guys think? I'm still on the fence but that's how I am with everything really. Either way I'm glad I got this out of my system. Please understand that everything from the first game is mostly from memory or from the game's Wiki site. I'm still working on getting that trilogy pack but it's slow going. Hayden is an old favorite of mine but Ranleigh is my rare male character. Bercan was thrown in for more than kicks. My real hope for him is to pair him with Tali later on, help him get out of the shell he's made for himself. The question now is: should Ranleigh get with another character or should I wait until the second part for Kasumi? And please don't say Liara. She's just a very pretty nerd who annoys the hell out of me. But until then Ranleigh is officially the bachelor in this and no this isn't that stupid show from the local channels. Whoever comes up with that crap needs a good punch in the face… but now I'm ranting. Sorry. Hope you guys liked this so review as soon as you're done. On to:

Next:

Chapter 2: Black & Blue Truth

Following the game (a tad religiously to be honest), we come to the Citadel to try (once again) to talk some sense into the Council. Can the truth be found in time to get Saren to be held accountable for all he's done? Watch it all unfold in:

_**Chapter 2: Black & Blue Truth!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Black and Blue Truth

Hello again everybody! I'm still going out on a limb by doing this fic but I'm doing it anyway so here it comes again. Again, I really hope you guys like this chapter same as the last one and I'd love for some reviews to show your appreciation. That said, '_Power of Three_' moves on to its next installment with a vengeance! Hope you're ready. Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

"_Iii_" = radio speech

'_Iii_' = text speech

_Iii_ = thought

Chapter 2: Black & Blue Truth

Sitting at his desk in his secluded office at C-Sec, Garrus Vakarian couldn't help but growl at being once again denied the ability to look up Saren Arterius on his terminal. His boss was already displeased with him and getting mad wasn't going to solve anything. In fact, he barely had even a paragraph of information on the renowned Spectre. As the Council's top agent, Saren was the epitome of turian ideals even if his own actually weren't. Many of his missions usually ended with vast majorities of people being killed, all of them aliens and only a number of them actual criminals. The rest were civilians caught in the crosshairs, another reason to be suspicious of the Spectre and his decisions. As an agent of the Council, Spectres like Saren worked either with or above the law, and all without fear of being arrested for doing anything overly…destructive. But more often than not, it was like Saren didn't even care who he hurt, when or why. Only that they got out of his way for him to do his job. And because the man was a Spectre, Garrus felt a flare of rage over not having a legal way to prove it. The most he could do was download what little he'd compiled onto a datapad for his boss, Executor Pallin. And if he got moving now, he'd be able to catch up to him on the Presidium. _It's a long shot, but I hope he listens to me for once._ Garrus thought as he shut his terminal down and moved to leave. Passing through the halls, weaving through the myriad of officers, offenders and citizens, Garrus vaguely noticed that Harkin wasn't around. _Probably got himself suspended again._ Unsurprising really since the balding human was a menace and an ill reputed officer who only drank his money away. Getting on the elevator, Garrus steeled himself for another long 'chat' on trying to get his superiors to see reason. If he was going to take Saren on, he was going to need more than vague witness testimony and bloody pictures. He needed solid, irrefutable evidence.

Bercan dared to feel a thrill of excitement. He'd been to various hub worlds around the galaxy but never the high class areas of the Citadel. Despite having missed out on the rest of his shift in the engine room, Anderson had given everyone a few days to cool off which he knew his siblings would be spending figuring out the mess they'd uncovered at Eden Prime. This, in turn, left him with free reign to do as he pleased before they were deployed again. Chakwas had seen Nihlus off to the hospital for a better recover plan and Anderson had dragged most of those who'd been on the ravaged human colony to the Presidium to meet Councilor Udina. Bercan had only seen the aging politician in the news and thought him shrewd and bitter. After Akuze, he found that his silence forced others to be a bit more open with him, especially when he suspected they were lying. Eventually, he could read faces better than he could read readouts and he was very good at reading those as they were spat out at him by the computers. Knowing that knowing the human expressions was a narrow field, he broadened it to the other races, watching vids and examining every frame. He did more than watch, he listened to their voices, their tones and inflections. Observed how they used their hands and shifted their feet, their shoulders. All the way down to the slightest shift of a finger. Skills he was certain his siblings had long obtained but compared to him, they openly admitted he was the master. Pulling on his old as anything windbreaker, Bercan felt comfort in wearing civilian clothes again. Jeans, t-shirt, average sneakers and real cotton socks, all of it proof that even after more than a hundred years of technological advancements, human fashion never really changed. It made it less obvious he was a soldier and a tech, making it easier for him to get lost in the crowds. Sometimes if felt great to be anonymous.

An even bigger relief was that a good number of store vendors knew him and were prepared to be met with silence rather than idle conversation. Some had even gone out of their way to ensure all their employees knew him and thus wouldn't react poorly when he refused to speak. All he had to do was point and nod, pay what was due and leave no differently than everyone else. He was certain most still talked about him behind their hands, giving him looks of pity or shock of his mere existence. Surviving a thresher maw attack was by far something only a krogan should be able to pull off and still be ready for the next shoot out. As the many races were discovering, the human mind was a complicated and sometimes delicate thing. No way was Bercan ever going to be defined as 'broken'. Only that a part of him just…shut down and had yet to turn back on. Most soldiers who'd been through what he'd endured were labeled 'Cat 6' and discharged with a reasonable pension. Bercan was certain he'd do the same to him but they never did. For that he was glad. He wanted to keep working, to keep going to new places and see new things, even help his siblings when he could. Weaving effortlessly through the crowds, Bercan smiled a little to himself that no one was turning to look at him, no whispers followed in his wake. Yet another reason he liked dressing like a civilian. Anonymity was probably the best friend he ever had.

Hayden had never been on the Presidium, much less near the Citadel Tower, by far the most heavily secured area on the entire station where all matters were dealt with by the Council and its three representatives. This in mind, the brunette didn't hesitate to discreetly ogle at her posh surroundings as she marched her way towards said tower. With Alenko and Williams just behind her, all of them in full armor and with their guns, the trio spent the elevator ride to their destination in silence. They too looked about with subdued awe, ignoring what few people that were around as they moved towards the steps leading to the Council. Yet Hayden couldn't ignore a certain pair who stood by the large fountain, encompassed by metal plated pathways and gushing water mechanically. The pair were clearly male turians, one armored, the other in a fashionable outfit that accented his white marking and dark plating. And by the tones of their voices, neither of them were happy.

The gray plated male, armored in black and blue armor with navy blue facial markings was all but shouting. "—have to give me more time! If I had proper access to Council records maybe I could find something but in the time I was given? Impossible."

The darker one, white markings reflecting the dim lights, only shook his head in pure irritation. "I can't give you more time. The meeting is about to start and there's very little I can do. Short of this report, anything else you might be able to come up with might not be enough. I'm sorry Vakarian but if you can't do this then there's no point in letting you keep this assignment. I'll be sure to find you something new before the end of the day."

Passing them by with nary a glance, the second turian walked off, leaving the first in his wake, crystal blue eyes coming around to watch the trio of humans approaching. Voice suddenly calm and friendly, the turian inquired. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian of C-Sec. I was assigned to investigate Saren about his involvement at Eden Prime but as you can see I wasn't very successful. Maybe I can help you instead."

"And how can you do that? Weren't you just thrown off this case, as my colleagues and I just witnessed?" Hayden asked in turn, pointing back at the departing turian.

Garrus shook his head, mandibles shifting minutely. "True but there's no denying that a Spectre like Saren running around is a disaster waiting to happen and I want him stopped. As much as we need the Spectres, what Saren's doing? It's a blot on turian honor and everything we stand for! He's been given too much leeway for way too long and he needs to be reined in. I may not be able to tell the Council what I know, but you can."

"You're willing to go against one of your own kind?" Kaidan spoke up, giving the turian before them a wary look. The look on Ashley's face was just as cautious.

Shifting his gaze to the biotic, Garrus let the next words come out low. "Turians live by a strict code of morals and laws that even turian Spectres have trouble going against. The fact that Saren does this so willingly and without thought for the consequences is as disgusting as it is disturbing."

Kaidan nodded back at that, accepting the man's words. "They're calling for us commander." Ashley told them pointedly, breaking the moment.

"As I said, I'm willing to help however I can to stop this madness. If you need my help, be sure that I'll be at the ready." Garrus promised with a respectful nod.

Hayden nodded back, her own face solemn. "Good to know. If I discover anything that might help us both, you can count on my support."

"Thank you commander, I appreciate it. Good luck in there." He said as he watched them go. Only the female in pink and white looked back at him, suspicion in her eyes but the other two didn't seem to bother. They marched off with confidence, leaving Garrus to his own business. He still had a lead or two he hadn't tracked down yet. His only hope now it wouldn't be too late to get what he needed.

Taking the steps almost two at a time, Hayden looked around for familiar faces only to find Anderson a level up, dressed in his Alliance blues. Spotting them he waved them over, the trio quick to do so as he too started climbing the last set of stairs. "Hurry, they're just starting."

Ahead of them, the human ambassador Donnel Udina was already at the edge of the platform, his irritated voice echoing his indignation. "This is unacceptable! I demand that Saren be arrested at once! This sort of blatant discrimination only serves to aid his venture against humans everywhere and this attack is no different."

"_I fail to see how your accusations have any basis seeing as how I had nothing to do with the attack on your precious Eden Prime. You should know that section of space is known for being awash with pirates and the like._" Saren retorted almost casually as he stood over them all in the form of an almost neon orange holo. He was so confident it was sickening.

Stepping forward, Hayden glared at the holographic depiction of the Council's most beloved Spectre, pointing an armored finger at him accusingly. "Deny it all you want: we have witnesses that put you there and in control of the geth attacking Eden Prime."

His contempt was transparent as the grey turian scoffed. "_You expect people to believe a gun running dock worker? And geth? No one's seen them in over three centuries. You're reaching and you're getting nothing in return._"

"Then I'm sure you'll be pleased to know your former student survived your assault on him and can vouch for every word." She shot back, her smooth face hiding the satisfaction she felt at his glare.

He looked ready to speak when the turian councilor Sparatus, standing tall with dark plates and white markings, venom green eyes glaring in irritation. "Enough! This kind of arguing will get us nowhere but the commander does have a point: attacking another Spectre is enough to warrant an inquiry. Unless more evidence is found, we can't rule with confidence to Saren's guilt."

"That's not good enough! You must do something right now!" Udina protested angrily, his voice carrying across the large room.

At that, the asari councilor, Tevos with largely purple coloring and intricate white paint of her own, quickly cut in so to stop a verbal war before it started. "I'm sorry Ambassador Udina but unless we have solid evidence, a proper ruling can't be made. You have twenty-four hours to provide it or this case is dismissed. This meeting is adjourned."

Scowling, Udina shook his head as he backed away from the stage's railing, all of them having no choice but to watch Saren shift his mandibles in a self-satisfied smile at their expense before vanishing. Moving back and over to a small corner by a bush, only then did Udina let his fury loose in a harsh tone.

"Dammit all! Damn them for their short-sighted favoritism! If we don't find something soon, we're sunk for sure! And you Anderson! Why didn't you say anything?" he demanded of the darker skinned man, glaring openly at the Alliance captain.

Irritated, Anderson scowled in turn but kept his own voice under control. "What could I say? 'He's a murderer who foiled my chance at becoming a Spectre myself'? Yes I believe that would've gone over well with them Donnel."

"Wait, you know Saren?" Hayden finally managed to cut in, the two marines at her back appearing just as surprised by this information.

Looking at her, Anderson nodded grimly. "I do and he was prejudice even then. It's been twenty years but it's still in the back of my mind. We can't let Saren walk if we're going to save whoever else falls in his path." The shadows in his dark eyes passed as an epiphany struck him, giving her a determined look. "Our best chance is to find the C-Sec officer assigned to investigate him, Garrus Vakarian."

Hayden nodded back at this, accepting his words easily. "We met him coming in. He wasn't too happy with not being able to find what we needed to take Saren on."

"If he has anything concrete, we're going to need it. Go to Barla Von, a volus banker and information broker I know. He'll know where to find him." Anderson told her, some hope returning to his features. "We'll try to stall long enough for you to find what you need. Should you need help or you find something, we'll be at the embassy."

"We're on it. With luck we can help move things along." Hayden promised, waving for the two marines to start walking, leaving the pair of men behind. Getting back to the elevator in a steady march, Hayden felt a spark of disappointment to see that their turian ally had left. But if what Anderson had already told her was true, than Barla Von could find him for her.

Garrus had only been back in his office for less than an hour when he got a message, his omni-tool chiming innocently to tell him of its arrival. Curious on who it was from, the turian lifted his arm to activate the message, the sender information telling it was from Dr. Michel in the wards. The brunette human woman was friendly, as he remembered, her odd accent made her sound strange but it did nothing to hinder her kindness to others. His small eyes widened at the words that appeared in the message window: '_I've been compromised. Come quickly._' Upon seeing those words, Garrus couldn't get out of his chair fast enough, holding long enough to grab his rifle and sniper rifle. Latched to the magnetic clips on his back and hip, Garrus exited his office and the precinct as fast as his naturally long legs would allow.

Barla Von had been oddly helpful, his plump form of black and white with a sickly green for stripes making it hard to imagine the volus were a dangerous species. Polite and very concise, the volus gave them what they needed with an odd promptness that was immediately questionable. When asked, he only stated, "Anderson is a good friend of mine, despite my work for the Shadow Broker. Officer Vakarian will be in the wards by the markets to see a human doctor about a possible lead. Should you need extra help, seek out a krogan mercenary named Wrex at the C-Sec precinct. He's been contracted to kill Fist, the owner of Chora's Den who has betrayed the Shadow Broker to work for Saren. Not wise."

"Thanks for the help. It will help things along." Hayden responded politely, giving the volus a smile of gratitude.

Breathing deep and loud like all volus, it wasn't hard to miss Barla Von's humored tone, mirroring the politeness with sincere honesty. "You're most welcome Commander Shepard, be sure to return if you have need of my services again."

Each gave the volus banker a nod of thanks before heading back outside into the fake sunlight, the steady whoosh of the fountains and distant conversations breaking the quiet. They all came to stop in the middle of the walkway, Williams speaking up first. "So where too commander? The precinct or the wards?"

"We need to find Vakarian first. After that we deal with Fist. I'll deal with the krogan if he shows up." Hayden told them coolly and without malice, motioning them towards the elevator again.

Bercan drifted around the market stalls, gazing thoughtfully at what was in stock before passing a particular with that turian vendor he didn't like. The dark plated turian, tall and oh-so-irritated like always, was once again arguing with a human customer. For anyone to say relations between the turians and humans were shaky at best was putting it kindly. While some were polite and open-minded, others were harsh and unforgiving in their contempt of the newcomers. Bercan could only figure it had to do with them being forced to back off and pay dearly for the damage wrought to Shanxi. But what did he know? It was before his time. It was why his father, a strong and honorably man he never knew, was dead. Did he hate turians for it? Not a bit. Holding grudges like that were costly in Bercan's mind, no point in dragging things out. Still he felt some pity for the annoyed human man who was insistent on getting his refund as Bercan moved on to a friendlier vendor, a salarian named Marab. The skinny grey alien with large eyes of almost pure black smiled upon spotting him from the rest of the crowd. "Bercan! Good to see you! I thought I wouldn't see you for at least another week. How are you?"

Smiling in turn, Bercan couldn't help but nod as he activated his omni-tool for his messaging program. He typed quickly, knowing the salarian arms dealer was prepared to receive it. '_I'm fine, thanks. Just got transferred again, thought I'd stop by for some things._'

"Well I'm glad you came by. Take a look, see what you find." The salarian offered, casually taking Bercan's quirk in stride.

As his steel grey eyes began to scan the selection before him, Bercan scowled a little when the human at the turian vendor's stall began to get louder. Frowning, he turned back to Marab with a questioning look on his face as he typed. '_He causing trouble again?_'

Marab frowned too, looking just as upset over it. "Yeah it's the third time this week. Can't do much about it though, sad to say. Which ship are you on this time?" the salarian queried, hoping to distract Bercan.

Glad for the shift in subject, and that the human behind him had quieted down some, he started typing again as his mind refocused on the gun list. '_The new one, the Normandy. My siblings are there too, helped quite a bit._'

"I heard about that ship, it's supposed to be a human/turian project right? I know you can't get into detail. Not that I know much about ships anyway." Marab responded, his knowledge of humans working like a charm when he noticed Bercan was staring at a certain item with interest. "Find something you like?"

'_Yes, that one._' Bercan typed, pointing at the item in question. Putting in the necessary information at the terminal, Marab gave him his choice from under the counter out of a locked cabinet out of sight. The Pinnacle X, clean crimson and black paint countered only by its tiny bright blue lights, was better than his old gun, the Stiletto. Smiling at the salarian salesman, Bercan got to typing again. '_Thanks again Marab. I'll be sure to get my siblings to come around when they need something too._'

That line alone had Marab looking like he'd won the lottery, his odd looking mouth spread wide in joy. "Of course! Glad I could be of service. You and your family are welcome here anytime."

'_See you Marab._' Bercan typed back, holding down chuckles.

"Good luck out there!" the salarian called over the noise of the market.

Bercan only nodded, smiling as he moved to leave the market, having found all that he needed in case he was called onto a mission with his siblings. Now his mind turned to food, his mind's map directing him to a small café he'd really liked the last time he'd come to the giant station. Stuffing the new pistol into his jacket, Bercan moved casually though his eyes were ever watchful for anything strange. Even on the Citadel, crime was rampant and could strike at any time. As a soldier for the Alliance, whether anyone knew him or not, it still made him a target to those who wished to strike back at his species. Yet his vigilance did nothing about the blur of purple that seemed to appear from nowhere, making Bercan come to a stop, making his eyes of silver grey becoming wide as the form of a quarian stepped into his path. It was rare to see quarians, not unless they were on Pilgrimage or exiles. Glowing eyes seemed to finally spot him from the confines of her mask, making her jump in turn. Her voice, echoing a bit through the speaker in her helmet, told him he was young. Maybe a year or so younger than him if he was to judge with what little knowledge he had. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you. Excuse me."

He couldn't help but blink at her, the words failing to register as he tried not to marvel at the fact he'd met a quarian, up close and without any real effort. Quick to remember that staring was rude, Bercan moved back a step, ducking his head a bit as he did as he tried to think of what to do. Due to his…trauma, talking wasn't something he was going to do anytime soon. Glancing about he saw no one he knew that he could wave over and explain. Sure enough, the quarian girl was talking again.

"Are you alright? I know I didn't bump into you."

_Now of all times, when talking would be so much easier!_ He thought viciously to himself as he struggled to think of what to do. Activating his omni-tool, Bercan quickly scanned for her information using a discreet program, the wave of his arm earning a jerk of surprise from the girl as his fingers danced over the display. In seconds, her omni-tool glowed to life as his message appeared. '_No I'm fine. You just surprised me._'

Looking between the message and his calm gaze, the quarian girl was clearly taken aback by his odd initiative. "Wait, did you-?"

'_Yes.'_ He typed, frowning a bit. _'I'm not being rude am I?_'

"Uh no, I don't think so." The quarian responded, her tone reflecting the awkwardness that hovered over them like a storm cloud. "Why are you writing everything out?"

'_I don't talk much. At least, not anymore._' He waited for her response, working desperately to keep the pain and terror from his face. For all he knew, this girl knew quite a bit about human expressions by now.

The girl seemed to be almost aghast at the information, her words low and cautious, easily heard even over the bustle of the market. "Were you injured? If I can ask…"

'_Not physically, no._' was his response, shaking his head and felt a wave of relief when the tension seemed to leave the girl's form. '_I'm being rude again. Weren't you going someplace?_'

Blinking owlishly at the reminder, the quarian nodded vigorously. "Yes, I was! In fact if I don't get moving I'll be late." She said, gazing at him curiously. "Have a good day Mr.…?"

'_Bercan._' He provided, not wanting to spark an even lengthier conversation about his surname.

Much to his surprise, the quarian chuckled at his response. "Bercan, that's an odd name."

Bercan fought down a frown, not just of confusion over her response, but over his mild contention with his name. '_It was my grandfather's name. My parents were feeling nostalgic when they named me._'

"Well Bercan, I'm Tali. And I'm glad I met you." She told him with a sincerity he hadn't expected from a complete stranger. But she was already stepping past him and back into the crowd as she called back at him. "See you!"

Bercan waved as she moved away and out of sight, unable to keep from smiling to himself at not only having met a girl, but a quarian at that. If his siblings ever got wind, they probably wouldn't let him live it down. Regaining his bearings, Bercan continued to head for the café he'd been intending to get his lunch from, his thoughts stubbornly circling back to the quarian. _No, Tali she said her name was._ Wonder what it means in her culture. He thought with a rare absentminded mindset, coming to the small restaurant easily enough to accept guidance from the asari waitress. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the staff perk up upon seeing him, waving the blue-skinned woman over once he was seated and perusing the menu. He hadn't recognized the alien woman so she was probably a recent hire. And if experience told him anything, her new coworker was forewarning her of his 'special needs'. Ignoring the asari's look of mild shock she sent his way, Bercan let himself get lost in selecting his food, treating it all like any other day on furlough.

Garrus came to Dr. Michel's door to find it unlocked. Closed but not reading that she was handling a patient, which raised a red flag in his mind. She wouldn't have sent him a message if something wasn't wrong. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking, he pulled his rifle and moved towards the door. When it opened with a light swish, his blood froze upon seeing that the good doctor wasn't alone and thankfully, the three men had yet to notice him. All humans and looking quite irritable, their guns in hand as one pointed his pistol into the frightened woman's face. Moving quick and silent, Garrus ducked so that the counter dividing them hid his large form to crouch on the floor. The door shut after him, which the thugs still failed to notice as his superior hearing cued in on what they were saying.

"Put that away please! It's not necessary." He heard her say, her fear all but palpable.

Garrus fought down a growl as the man, the leader no doubt, just spit back at her. "We're the ones making the orders, not you."

"I won't say anything, please!" Chloe pleaded, her accent doing little to lilt her fear-filled words. Behind him, Garrus saw the door open again, this time revealing the trio of Alliance marines with Commander Shepard in the lead. Not acknowledging them, Garrus moved forward a bit to get a better shot at positioning himself.

His chance was well-placed as it was short lived as the lead thug growled out. "You better not or—who're you!?" he demanded angrily, a cry of surprise telling Garrus he'd likely made a grab for the physician.

"Let her go." Shepard stated in return, her Tempest submachine gun pointed right at where the man was standing. She was giving him a chance to get ready!

Over his head, Garrus heard the gunman snarl, though his uncertainty over what to do next wasn't hard to hear. "This is none of your business! Just back out now or I take the doc's head off."

That was one threat too far for Garrus, bringing his rifle up and to bear on the gunman, taking aim and flawlessly putting a few into his scowling head. It was so sudden, Dr. Michel cried out in fright as her captor suddenly collapsed to the floor as his two friends moved to hide behind some storage crates. Behind him boots scuffled against the metal floor plates, Garrus spotting a blur of color as the human female he recognized as Commander Shepard came into view, her submachine gun in one hand and a grenade in the other. Moving to the desk where Dr. Michel had gone to hide under, shooting at the thugs to keep them in cover, she threw the grenade into the small space. Seconds later it blew and the two men fell to the floor, unmoving and no doubt lifeless. Relaxing, holstering his rifle, Garrus turned to the woman.

"Thanks for the save Commander, I-." He began to say, only to see her turn towards him, her silver grey eyes flashing dangerously up at him.

"What the hell were you thinking? Firing your gun like that could've made you hit the hostage!" she seethed at him, pointing an accusing finger at him in her fury.

Garrus tried not to reel from the sudden shift in temper but recovered quickly either way as he tried his best to respond properly. "I'm sorry commander, but I was just trying to keep him from hurting her. Hasty I know but it was the only move I could make." Turning his attention to the quivering physician coming to stand by them, staring at the bodies in shock, he asked in as kind a tone he could muster. "Dr. Michel are you alright?"

Dark red hair all but covering her right eye, the green orbs wide in shock, she pushed it back with a gloved hand before nodding. Her accented voice was shaky. "Yes, now that you're all here. I wasn't sure how soon you'd get here."

"What did they want with you?" Shepard asked just as calmly, surprising Garrus yet again with the shift. Yet another sign he should educate himself on human behavior at some point.

Relaxing in the face of the sudden calm, Dr. Michel couldn't help but wring her hands together anxiously. "My clinic is open to everyone, and they often want to avoid stirring up attention. But today, I treated a quarian for gunshot wounds. Polonium rounds, foul things that they are, were wreaking havoc on her systems. She asked me if there was a way she could sell some information. Patched her up best I could and told her to see Fist down at Chora's Den."

"Fist? He's a shady character. What information was she trying to sell?" Garrus cut in, not bothering to see if the female marine was bothered by his interruption.

Dr. Michel only shook her head at him, clearly wanting to tell them more. "I don't know but it must be big if I'm being visited by armed men. She said she wanted to meet the Shadow Broker. Fist is one of his agents."

"That's impossible. No one meets the Shadow Broker. All anyone meets are agents. And even then it's all smoke and mirrors." Garrus said, not helping but shake his head at how naïve the quarian was.

What Shepard said next only made his gut ache. "But what she doesn't know is that Fist doesn't work for the Shadow Broker anymore, or that he's working for Saren. If that's where she's headed, it's definitely a trap." Looking back at her fellow human, Shepard gave the woman a reassuring smile. "Thanks for your help. Be sure to get C-Sec in here to get a report and remove the bodies."

"Indeed. I can't work if there are corpses in here." The physician muttered as she moved away to put her desk back in order and out of earshot.

As Shepard turned to leave, Garrus spoke up quickly. "Commander, I want to come with you."

"Oh? And why should I, after that stunt you pulled?" she queried, watching him carefully for his reaction.

Garrus didn't bother denying his error, instead driving forward. "Because I'm just as determined to get Saren as you are. And Fist is just a stop on that goal. Plus we're pressed for time to get to him before a krogan mercenary, named Wrex I believe, gets to him first."

"Can you follow orders?" the woman asked, her companions also giving him hard looks.

Tough crowd but I've dealt with worse. He thought prior to nodding with as much confidence as he could instill into his dual-toned voice. "Yes ma'am. And I'll be sure not to 'pull any stunts' unless you tell me to."

Much to his surprise, the brunette marine chuckled softly, a ghost of a smile stretching her naturally pink lips. "Good, welcome aboard. Kaidan, head back to the ship for a breather. Williams, Vakarian and I will take it from here."

"Sure thing commander. Good luck out there." The raven-haired man stated, moving to where Dr. Michel stood at her desk trying to make sense of the mess the thugs had made.

Shepard didn't remark against his actions, instead turning back to both him and the other female marine. "Right. Let's get moving." Giving him a questioning look, she spoke. "I trust you know where this Chora's Den place is?"

"On your six commander." He responded easily, waving for her to take the lead, politely allowing the other female to follow not far behind. Even turians knew it was wise to treat women kindly, or else you'd regret it.

The trek to the club took all of ten minutes, the trio pausing long enough to pull their guns and position near the door under its flashy neon sign. Garrus had rarely ever gone inside so he didn't feel particularly bad about having to shoot it up and if the looks on the faces of his female companions, they were just as indifferent on filling the place full of holes. Many, many bullet holes. At Shepard's signal, Garrus took point, his Vindicator rifle up and ready to shoot at anything dangerous. Fist must've known they were coming since he noticed that all the patrons and dancers were gone, with only human and krogan guards to take their place. Sure enough, they were already pointing their guns at him, making him fire widespread to get them to duck back into cover. Garrus didn't dive for an overturned table until the two human women were in and moving to their own positions, Shepard already tossing a grenade at a spot where more than two of the thugs had gathered. Once she was back in cover, her body seemed to shimmer purple and blue for a second before disappearing as quickly as it'd appeared. It was a surprise but Garrus forced himself to ignore it in favor of doing his job. Soon enough the room was filled with gunfire and explosions, shields forced to fail with Garrus's overload program or Shepard's warp. These weakened opponents were easily picked off by Williams who was taking it all in stride despite her looks of suspicion she'd been sending his way earlier. Such things mattered little as the last guard fell, a krogan who tried to charge only to get a face full of biotic energy for his trouble. Coming to the small room in the back, bordered by large crates, only two men remained, both holding pistols and looking shocked at seeing their comrades fall. Even from a distance, Garrus could see they were scared. Instead of gunning them down, Shepard only stared unblinking.

"I doubt Fist is paying you two enough to fight. Just drop your guns and get out of here."

Glancing at each other nervously, the two human males lowered their guns, one already speaking. "Yeah, sure. We're just the cleaning crew anyway. No way I'm dyin' for this guy because he got himself into a corner."

"Me neither. You really gonna let us go?" the other asked, both of them easing their pistols to the floor.

Hayden merely waved them through lazily, though she spoke with lacking bitterness. "Go ahead, we won't stop you. You're not who we want and killing you would be wasteful. Get out of here and find better jobs."

"No argument from us. Give Fist a good punch or two for us!" one of them called as they both jogged past, their shoes loud in the odd quiet of the club.

"That's one request I don't mind taking." Williams muttered aloud, making Garrus hum in agreement.

After taking a moment to hack the door, Shepard was about to step through when her newest team member stopped her. When she looked at him, he began to mutter. "He might have some extra protection in there, no idea on what but we should be careful."

"Right, try and flank them but we need Fist alive to find the quarian." She whispered back, shoulders set in preparation for a new challenge.

"You got it Commander." Garrus affirmed as he moved forward, his larger form best for shielding his teammates from whatever surprises lay inside.

Guns raised, the trio entered cautiously, turning into the office only to find his fears confirmed: standing there was Fist with a pistol in hand, with a pair of turrets flanking him. Anger twisted his features as he started firing at them, making them duck back as the turrets began to fire as well. Rolling to the other side of the small hallway, Williams opened fire on one while Shepard began to glow with blue biotic power, sending a ball of it at the other turret. Even as they exploded, destroying any chance Fist had of a proper defense Garrus still loaded his overload program for any other surprises. Knowing he had no chances of getting away, Fist was already on the floor, hands raised and eyes dark with rage despite being cornered.

"Don't kill me! Please! I've got creds, lots of 'em! You can take 'em! Take 'em all! Just don't kill me!" he pleaded, voice caught between anger and fear as the three came to surround him, guns ready for anything meant to harm them.

Shepard openly sneered at him, as if annoyed by his display. "If that's what I wanted, I'd have done it already. Where did you send the quarian for the meeting?"

Recognition sparked in the fallen man's dark colored eyes, cooling some of his ire at being cornered. "That alien girl with the info? She wanted to meet the Shadow Broker in person for the exchange, down by the markets down the street. Only people she's gonna meet are some of Saren's men. Not sure what she's got but it must be worth all the trouble he's going through to get it."

"How long until the meet?" Garrus cut in, Williams giving him a hard glance but Shepard didn't even turn.

Fist could only shrug, glancing between Garrus and Shepard nervously. "A few minutes, give or take, I'm not sure but they're on their way if they're not there already. Y-you're not gonna kill me are ya?"

"As much as I hate scum like you, I don't see much point in killing you. You're just a greedy coward who makes other humans look crooked. If I ever see you on this station again, I'll shoot you on sight. Now get out of here before I change my mind." Shepard warned, pointing her heavy pistol at him in emphasis of her threat.

Fist's eyes widened but seemed to get the hint as he got to his feet. "Right, you got it. I'm gone. After all this, I don't think my business would be welcome."

Watching the gangster run out the door behind them, Williams gave the other woman a questioning look. "Sure that was the right choice Commander? Why not just shoot him?"

Moving around the desk to examine it, Shepard seemed to find something of interest and stuck it in one of the pouches attached to her armor as she answered. "You never know when you'll need someone like him on the inside. If we're lucky, he'll see my actions as reason enough to return the favor. Besides, arresting him would hold us up and killing him wouldn't solve much. C'mon, we still have to get to that meeting." Rearming her submachine gun, Shepard signaled back to the door. "Let's get moving."

Once again taking the lead, Garrus paused in the small room just outside Fist's office, taking cover by the doorway. "We've got movement Shepard. More thugs, probably called in when we killed the first group."

"We never did give Fist the chance to call them off." Williams stated, checking her rifle to be sure it had a fresh clip in it.

Smooth face cast in a hard look, Shepard nodded. "Right, shoot as many as possible but getting out is our priority. We need the quarian alive if we're going to get that evidence."

"Roger that." Williams said, moving to take cover as well.

"Ready for action Commander." Garrus also affirmed.

Glancing at the turian, silver grey eyes flashed with humor. "Just call me Shepard." She told him just as she dashed right through the door, sliding into cover behind an overturned table, sparking a cacophony of gunfire.

"I'll remember that." Garrus muttered mostly to himself as he and Williams both raised their guns and got to shooting.

Bercan had left the café some ten minutes earlier, deciding to find a secluded spot to properly calibrate his new gun. He'd discreetly scanned it with his omni-tool while he ate his lunch, smiling back at the asari waitress as she deftly handled his needs. If she felt any pity towards his past or his condition, she expertly kept it from showing. Since the café dealt with mostly asari cuisine, perfect for humans and salarians craving the levo-amino foods, it wasn't hard to imagine she was experienced with human soldiers with certain…issues. Still he paid for his meal, even left a tip, gave a kind wave to the salarian behind the counter who'd recognized him and blended back into the crowds. Now he stood in a small alley, expertly configuring the software of his new purchase so he could go the ranges to try it out faster. Firing it now would just get him extra attention, and maybe a call from the cops. Though just as he was ready to leave the area, something caught his attention: some salarians in light armor, colored black and yellow with hints of white were standing around at the other end of the alley. As if trying to look inconspicuous and were failing miserably at it. Even more unusual, a turian in dark clothes, his white skull face paint striking against the almost pure black of his plates was standing not far off. Much to Bercan's surprise and growing concern, the quarian in purple, Tali, was talking to him. He knew their body language well enough to see that the girl was nervous while the turian was relaxed. Confident almost, reaching a clawed hand to try and stroke her arm. Bercan felt a spark of amusement upon seeing the seeking limb was pushed away, the quarian moving to leave. Only cold dread took its place when he saw the group of salarians move to follow her, drawing guns in obvious intent of taking her down. Bercan had only seconds to act.

How he got to the other end of the alley he didn't really know, or care, only that his new gun was in hand and aimed at the group of assassins. A loud explosion destroyed the quiet as the quarian darted to cover, her grenade throwing the turian back and obscuring the assassin's view of her. From the left guns gave thunderous retort, cutting the turian down as he tried to shoot back, giving Bercan plenty of chance to shoot at the salarians. His new pistol growled in his hand as each shot filled the skinny hit men full of holes. When they fell, Bercan kept his gun raised as he moved to the alley's end, poking his head cautiously around the corner. What he saw made him relax quickly enough: his sister and their newest addition Gunnery Chief Williams coming down the small set of steps with a rather tall turian he didn't know. Holstering his weapon, Bercan was quick to step into view, ignoring the trio in favor of the quarian who'd taken cover behind a storage crate.

"Bercan? What're you doing here?" he heard his only sister ask, ignoring her as he moved into the young woman's line of sight, extending a hand to her in silence.

"You? But how-?" the young quarian asked as she took his hand, allowing herself to be gently pulled up to her full height.

Holstering his gun, the turian gave his sister a trill of confusion. "You know this guy Shepard?"

"I certainly do. Garrus, this is my youngest brother Bercan." Hayden told the turian, silver grey eyes watching in confusion. "Bercan, why are you here? You should be off enjoying your furlough."

Letting go of the quarian's hand, Bercan activated his omni-tool to start typing, quickly sending it to wait for her to read it and respond. '_I was, but I saw them and knew something was wrong. I was going to leave but they pulled guns. Wasn't about to stand by and let some innocent girl get shot._'

Hayden glanced between her brother and his message, her mind quickly processing the information, waving away his scowl. "No, that's okay. You did good. I'm just glad neither of you got hurt." Turning the quarian, she couldn't help but smirk. "We've been trying to find you almost all day."

Taken aback, the quarian in purple blinked from within her suit. "Me? Why?"

"The information you carry is important to us and we need it. We won't try to shoot you for it either." Garrus said, keeping his tone calm and friendly so not to scare her.

"That's a relief. So you don't work for Saren or the Shadow Broker?" she asked, glancing between them all curiously.

At that, Hayden was practically grinning in her amusement. "No, me, Bercan and Williams here are with the Alliance. Officer Vakarian is with C-Sec. We're building a case against Saren and we need the evidence you have to prove he's not the star agent the Council thinks he is."

"If it gets people to stop shooting at me, I suppose it would be a good way to pay you back for helping me." The quarian retorted with her own humor filled tone, not seeing the small look of relief on Bercan's face.

It didn't keep Hayden from giving him a knowing look before refocusing on the quarian girl. "Good enough for me."

"We should get back to your embassy Shepard, before we review the data. I'm sure your superiors will want to see it too." Garrus pointed out, already looking around to be sure no one had come running up to see what all the shooting had been about.

Finally Hayden frowned, mentally kicking herself for letting such a crucial detail escape her. Still she nodded in agreement. "My thoughts exactly. Bercan, get into formation since keeping you out of this is futile, Williams can cover your backs. Vakarian, you're on point with me."

"Lead the way Shepard." The turian said back, the others already moving to obey.

Ambassador Donnel Udina glared at them when they came through the office door, with Anderson next to him, his dark grey eyes full of rage. "Shepard! What's this racket I'm hearing about you starting gunfights and storming businesses? Do you have any idea—who're you?"

Not about to let the older man shout needlessly at the poor girl, Hayden positioned herself between them, openly glaring. "Take it easy Udina. She's been through a lot today. She's the reason I've had no choice but shoot up half the Citadel." Once the man eventually nodded his defeat, she backed away, speaking to the quarian in gentle tones. "Go ahead, take it at your own pace."

Wringing her hands nervously, the young woman nodded in turn before turning to face the two older humans. "Well, I'm Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and I'm on my Pilgrimage."

"Pilgrimage? I've never heard of that." Udina growled impatiently, earning another scowl from both Hayden and Bercan.

Anderson answered quickly, hoping to defuse the tension. "It's where a quarian leaves the flotilla in search of anything they can find to bring back to be accepted onto another ship. Supposed to help them know what the galaxy is really like." Seeing he'd earned a few looks of surprise he soon added. "I've met a quarian or two in my time."

Tali nodded at him respectfully, relieved that part was over with. "Yes, thank you. I'd heard a few things about the geth and went to investigate. Since they exiled my people so long ago, anything from them could've gotten me accepted by a good ship for certain."

"What did you find?" Hayden asked, again keeping things calm and friendly.

"A geth's memory core. As I'm sure you all know, geth memory cores are destroyed with the geth itself is destroyed but this time I got lucky. It was mostly intact and had some files still on it too." She informed them, earning many a look of astonishment.

"That's impressive. What do they contain?" Anderson cut in, easily showing his excitement at such a find.

"Here, I'll play it." Tali offered, her omni-tool coming to life with its orange light engulfing her arm.

Static filled the room for but a moment, easily defused with a few strokes of her thin fingers. Once clear, Saren's rumbling voice filled the room. "_The beacon on Eden Prime was a step forward. We should have what we need soon._"

"_Making us one more step closer to summoning the Reapers._" A female, smooth and heavy with refinement replied before all became silent.

"The first voice is clearly Saren but the second I don't recognize. What's this 'reaper' they're talking about?" Anderson pondered aloud in the quiet left by the recording.

Something in Hayden's mind sparked to life, recollections of her nightmare spawned by the beacon coming to the forefront. Ignoring the pain and horror it brought, she quickly responded to the man's question. "I know that term. I don't know how but it has something to do with what the beacon showed me, something about the fall of the Protheans."

"The geth are said to revere these 'Reapers' as gods and they must be helping Saren bring about their return, whatever that means." Tali stated, her posture showing she too was trying to put it all together.

Again showing his irritation, Udina broke the moment like it was glass. "That doesn't matter right now. All this does is prove once and for all that Saren is no longer loyal to the Council and we need to show this to them immediately."

"What about her? She's safe in here but what about after the meeting?" Ashley finally cut in from her spot by the door.

"Well, why don't you come along?" Hayden offered, once again giving the young woman a kind smile as she jerked in surprise.

"Really?" Tali stared, her shock evident. "You mean that?"

"It's your find, you should be the one to present it to them. And since it's now evidence, coming with us could help you find something else to take back to the flotilla instead." Hayden surmised, her grin almost permanently on her face as the quarian shifted anxiously.

"You'd really let me join you?" the young woman asked, wondering if what she was being offered was real.

Hair shifting as her head bobbed slowly in a nod, Hayden spoke sincerely. "I would. You seem like a competent tech and we might need your help dealing with any more geth we might run into. Besides, I think Bercan likes you." This earned her a hard shove from her sibling, who was scowling again with hints of a blush on his cheeks. "Hit a nerve did I?"

"We met just today. I don't see how-." Tali began to say, stopping when she was cut off.

"My brother rarely does anything unless it serves a purpose. Or if he just likes them, not sure sometimes but if he was willing to shoot some thugs without armor on I'd say that's proof enough. And since he's one of the techs on our ship, he can show you around."

Seeing where this was going, Bercan was quick to start typing, sending the message to both women. '_I'd like that._' It said, the man standing by, watching for their response.

"Well I don't really have any other options, and you've all been so nice." Tali muttered, her hesitation making dread settle into Bercan's stomach. Raising her head, she gave the other woman a confident nod. "Alright. Let's go finish this."

Hayden smiled wide. "That's the spirit."

The meeting with the Council had been as brief as it'd been surprising: she'd been named the first human Spectre, charged with hunting Saren down in the Traverse. Much to her relief, the councilors didn't deny the value of Tali's audio evidence, quick to conclude that Saren had indeed defied them and expelled him from the Spectres. Without hesitation, they swore her in to take his place. Seeing his open hostile glare sent her way via vid comm. did nothing to impress fear in her, only a dark satisfaction she'd further indulge in when she finally caught him. And if he resisted, when she shot his corrupt, murdering brains out. Even as she walked back to the docks, back to the Normandy, _her_ ship, it all still felt like one endless dream. To think her dream of commanding her own vessel had finally come true, Anderson saying he would be of better use on the Citadel's human embassy and would give her all the support he could. His expression gave away his annoyance at being transferred but then she couldn't blame him: he was a man of action, and he had to be in the thick of it. Passing through the C-Sec Academy and precinct to the elevator leading to the docking area, Hayden felt a flare of surprise to see a hulking krogan waiting there. Large with crimson armor and plating, matched only by his sandy brown skin and crimson red eyes large and unmarred by a long scar stretching across his face. Spotting their approach, the mass of flesh and armor straightened some as his gaze fell on her with an ageless wisdom and hard focus. "Commander Shepard? Word is you're to thank for me losing my contract on Fist."

Giving the large being in front of her a respectful nod, Hayden didn't bother looking away from his intense gaze. "I knew the Shadow Broker wanted him dead but someone like him could be useful for future investigations. Whether he gets killed between now and then is a minor concern. You must be Wrex."

"I am and it's also told you're after Saren. My gun is yours if you're willing." The ancient krogan stated, sending a wave of surprise though the gathered people around him.

Eyes of silver, sharp like steel, examined the krogan carefully. It wasn't everyday a krogan this old volunteered his services to anyone. Not without good reason. "And why do you want to go after him? I know krogan and turians don't usually get along."

"All I'll say is he and I have business and I plan on dealing with it. The best way I can do that is with you. This old battle master knows a thing or two about honor and I know that excuse of a warrior has none." The elderly krogan explained, everything about him lacking any shred of deception. Just pure, blunt honesty, as was the way with all krogan.

Giving the krogan a sincere look, Hayden couldn't help but smile a little. With a krogan along, her mission to catch Saren just got a little easier. "Okay Wrex, you're in. We leave for Therum in a few hours so be on board by then."

His massive mouth stretched in a dangerous looking grin, extending his hand towards her, as was the human custom when striking bargains. He squeezed her hand a little when she took his, but not enough to see who was tougher. "You can count on it, and with the hero of Elysium, I'm sure to find some of the best fights out there. Whenever you need me, you can count on my skills."

"Knowing someone like you, I don't doubt it. I look forward to your company." Hayden returned, smiling just as easily even if hers held a faded shadow at its edges.

Moving towards the elevator again, watching the krogan lumber away, likely to retrieve his belongings from his home or some other accommodation, Garrus chuckled. When most looked at him with questioning expressions, he spoke. "Well that was interesting. First me, a turian, then a quarian and now a krogan. What next? A rachni? Maybe a batarian?"

Laughing in turn, Hayden shook her head. "With my luck? I don't doubt it."

Ranleigh stared, literally, down at the ship's newest additions. In less than a day, his sister had acquired three new passengers and with Nihlus still in the hospital they were unlikely to get him back as a fourth. Eyes of rosewood brown stared at them with equal distant interest as they looked up at him in turn. The krogan, a well-aged and scarred beast of a being, stared back with vague interest and lacking wrath. The turian, grey with navy blue paint on his face, eyes of crystal blue, appeared honestly curious though his mandibles gave away his anxiety at Ranleigh's almost unnatural size. The last alien, a young quarian in a purple and black enviro-suit, all but gaped at him with glowing silver eyes that were as wide as possible. All of which he observed in the silence that'd followed their arrival, Joker at the helm trying not to burst out laughing at them. Only a hard look from his sister kept the mirth from being voiced. Moving to stand by him, Hayden spoke into the tense quiet that hovered over them. "Everybody, this is my younger brother, lieutenant commander Ranleigh Shepard. Ranleigh, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Urdnot Wrex and Officer Garrus Vakarian. They'll be joining us on the mission."

"Hello." His deep voice rumbled, the turian's mandibles shifting in surprise at the sound, the quarian looking as though she feared she would be stepped on.

"Um…hello." The young woman managed, her voice tiny and nervous.

Hoping to salvage the introductions, Hayden waved for their other sibling to step forward and into view. "You all have already met our youngest brother, ensign Bercan. Tali, you'll be joining him in the engine room. Engineer Adams is already waiting for you two."

Seeing Bercan at her side seemed to ease her tension, the quarian daring to ask. "Am I right in believing it's of human and turian design?"

"It is, and it's prototype so whatever you break, you better know how to fix. Bercan, go ahead and take Tali down to engineering while Ranleigh gets these two settled. I have to go get changed before all this armor melds to my skin." Hayden grumbled as she turned away to stalk back to her quarters, soon followed by Tali and Bercan as they moved at a more casual pace. Already Tali was looking around and talking excitedly, Bercan smiling his amusement as he occasionally typed up a reply to her babbling.

Ranleigh only watched for a moment before turning back to the two aliens left in his care, the rough looking krogan speaking first. "So, you're the Butcher of Torfan huh? You're every bit I almost thought you'd be."

Next to him, Garrus gazed at him with open surprise which Ranleigh ignored as he went on in his practically monotone voice. "Just doing my job. In the end, those batarian slavers brought it on themselves with all the tragedy they've brought to others over the years. I only spared those who had the sense to surrender."

The ancient krogan observed him with curious in his eyes. "Hm, noble but not exactly weakness yet I understand. I think I might learn to like you. I've already promised your sister not to kill this whelp so you can rest assured you won't be breaking up any fights."

"An assuring thing to know. I trust officer Vakarian has promised the same?" Ranleigh asked, turning to the man in question.

Blue visor glowing a bit brighter in the dimness of the hall, Garrus only gave the larger man a bemused chuckle. "I have though now that I've met you, I know I probably wouldn't win."

Ranleigh's mask of a face twitched slightly in a light smirk. "Both of your species are known for becoming restless during bouts of inactivity. Should either of you require a sparring partner, testing my skills against yours will be a worth challenge." The smirk soon vanished as he turned on his heel towards the stern of the ship and towards the CIC. "This way."

"Who's the human tryin' not to stare?" Wrex queried as they walked, poking his thumb back at the cockpit.

Turning just long enough to follow the krogan's indication, Ranleigh continued on with smooth, silent steps. "That's Joker, our pilot. Try to be gentle with him, he has a rare case of Vrolik's Syndrome. He rarely leaves his station since movement is tricky. You'll probably hear from him mostly through the ship's intercom."

"You let cripples fly your ships? Sounds like a foolish thing to do." The krogan growled low in his throat, more curious that angered by the information.

"Actually, Joker was a candidate to pilot the ship but proved his worth when he stole the ship during the test for the chosen pilot. Passed it with flying colors, while being shot at and with approval both from Captain Anderson and a turian general. Anyone else probably would crashed and if they'd survived, been arrested." Ranleigh informed them coolly as he opened the door leading to the stairs that curved slightly to the second deck.

Behind him, he heard Garrus's double-toned hum of thought. "Sounds risky even for him. And he did it anyway?"

"He makes the occasional bad pun and crass jest but his piloting is top of the line. He has yet to disappoint." The human pointed out as they descended, earning the occasional stares from the various human crewmembers.

Coming to a stop in the middle of the mess hall which was thankfully deserted, Garrus spoke up again. "What's the story about your brother though? If you don't mind my asking."

Turning to face the pair, Ranleigh's face had become dark as the memories came back to him, only just being held back by his resolve. "Bercan is… a special case. Anyone else would've been discharged but he proved to be competent and stable though he's yet to actually speak. What he went through…it would've broken lesser people. We have hope but the most we can do is be patient."

"Was he on Elysium during the Skyllian Blitz like your sister?" Garrus pressed gently, knowing the krogan next to him was listening intently.

"No, he was sent to Akuze." The name alone made Garrus go stiff in shock, Wrex seeming to nod slowly with what looked like sadness in his large eyes. Still Ranleigh spoke. "His first real mission if I remember correctly, as someone other than tech support for some busted piece of equipment. I suggest not asking about it or else he'll just shut down. Getting him out of it takes time but he bounces back every time. Keeping this in mind when you do speak to him would be appreciated." He warned them. Only when they nodded their understanding did he turn again to keep walking. After all, he had to give them the full tour.

Bercan and Tali spent the better half of an hour in the engine room with Adams and the other engineers, getting her acquainted with all the staff and their equipment. Upon seeing the massive Tantalus Drive in all its prototypical glory, the enviro-suit wearing girl had all but fainted at the bright blue glow the piece of machinery was giving off. Bercan had been certain he'd have to catch her else she bust her head open on the metal flooring. Not to mention all the humans giving her purely honest, not to mention friendly, greetings, all smiles as they shook hands and said hello to the newcomer. A few of the crew even gave him nudges, knowing smiles and winks, even a few thumbs-up at finding the girl though he knew what they really meant. It wasn't everyday that one went out only to bring back an alien. Especially one so young and given that no one really knew what quarians looked like, at least not anymore, potentially attractive. Still Bercan scowled at them and their dirty thoughts. The poor girl had been through enough without her heart going through the wringer, not to mention she was probably too young for him. In fact, he barely knew her as it was! No point in jumping into a relationship with a complete stranger, not when it would affect how they acted around each other during their working hours. He'd gotten a few more knowing looks when it was told he'd helped save her life, mostly from the men for what they perceived as 'a good move'. Eventually he showed her where she could sleep, where to store her things and find her dextro-amino foods same as Garrus once the supplies showed up. Word was they would have them before they set out for Therum which was a day or so away. He even had the sense to take Tali to see Dr. Chakwas in the med bay to be sure they had the right meds for both her and Garrus, the elderly woman assuring them both the medication would be coming in with the food just as Hayden had ordered. This had relieved Bercan of a number of concerns, knowing the aging physician was perfectly capable of handling both human and alien patients.

Both of them ended up seated at the large table at the mess, Tali babbling in her excitement while Bercan either nodded or typed up his responses. Either way, she was so happy to be on a ship again that he found her mirth infectious, if his smile was to go by. At some point Kaidan had shown up, and soon the two were talking tech, giving Bercan ample opportunity to get something to drink. He typed up whether the two wanted something while he was up, both politely declining before going right back at it. Shaking his head ruefully at the sight, Bercan poked around before settling on a mild tea, patiently waiting for the water to heat up as he half listened to their conversation. Once done making his beverage, he seated himself back where he'd been, again merely listening to them go back and forth about the best type of omni-tool to use and for what. A time or two, Bercan nodded slowly with the most reasonable of points despite who made it, his face marred by a light scowl when the faults of said devices were then given. It was almost like he was listening to some kind of political debate after a while. The sound of a door distracted him to see Hayden come out of the captain's quarter—her quarters—he admonished himself as he watched her look over that them before walking over. The smile on her face was enough to know what she saw was what she sought: camaraderie between species who had little contact with one another and in consequence, little understanding.

"I see you're already settling in Tali. What're you guys talkin' about?" she asked, having changed from her N7 issue armor to her Alliance fatigues. The way Kaidan was covertly observing the curves the blue cloth revealed wasn't lost on Bercan, making him glare a warning at the staff lieutenant.

He was quick to comply, bringing his brown eyes up to her face (where they belonged). He even put a friendly smile on his face. "Just exchanging some differing opinions on tech and whatnot, pretty deep too. All friendly here commander."

"Oh? Like what?" Hayden inquired curiously, glancing between them.

More than happy to answer, Tali was talking excitedly. "Programs, mods, even omni-tools. I knew humans were pretty adept with technology but we quarians tend to know more than anyone. Something I'm more than willing to share of course."

"That's one reason I brought you along, and it'll keep Saren from finding you if he does get another itching to take you down for disgracing him." Hayden responded with a hint of smugness in her voice.

"At the very least I'll be ready for him. You can count on that Shepard." Tali shot back with a light chuckle, suddenly remembering the man seated next to her. "Your brother tells me that you plan to go to Therum. Any idea what we'll find there?"

Hayden scowled a bit at this, mirth gone. "Not much, just waiting for the data download. The most I know is it's known for the Prothean tech sites they found. It seems our intended contact, Liara T'Soni, is a Prothean researcher and archaeologist so her knowledge might come in handy. What's more, Saren might be after her so you can bet we'll run into trouble. Given that we'll be dealing with tech, I was thinking you could come along Bercan. What do you think?"

Bercan stared, all but gawking before snapping his mouth shut. Turning his silver grey eyes back to his tea, his hands gripped the ceramic mug almost to the point of cracking. _Me? She wants me to go? Even though she just said we might run into who knows what kind of trouble? Dammit Hayden! Just when I thought this would be like all the other assignments!_ His fear and indecision must've shown on his face because Hayden was suddenly across from him, giving him a sincerely worried look.

"I'm not trying to pressure you but it would be a good way to try and get you back out there. You did a great job today, so that's a step forward." Her matching eyes of grey watched him carefully, searching his face for his response. "We'll take this in baby steps. Okay?"

He didn't move for a moment, letting go of his mug long enough to type out. '_I'll think on it._'

His sister smiled her understanding, soft and kind. "That's all I'm askin' for. I wouldn't throw you into it unless I thought you were ready. Besides, if you don't go, you can keep Ash and Wrex company down in the cargo hold."

A deep chuckle brought attention back to Kaidan, the raven-haired biotic smiling almost knowingly. "Maybe not a good idea Shepard, seeing as how Wrex would probably snap him in half and Ashley…well she's not exactly Ms. Social. I think me and LC can keep him company, if that's okay."

Bercan thought this over for a second, his memory revealing he didn't know Kaidan as well as he should. Naturally getting to know Ashley was a must since she was new like Tali but Kaidan seemed the more approachable of the pair. Soon he was typing up. '_That'd be nice…if I don't go._'

"Your decision buddy. No pressure. Now if you'll excuse me, I actually have report or two to write. Nice meetin' ya Miss Zorah." Kaidan stated politely to the quarian as he vacated his seat, giving the girl a kind smile.

"You too." As the man wandered away, Tali was quick to turn back to the siblings, her hands already in motion in her fervor. "I've never met so many nice people in all the same day, it's almost too shocking to realize it's all real. Most don't treat quarians kindly due to the supposed stigma they still think we have."

Sure enough Hayden was chuckling at how animated the girl was. "Hopefully after this mission they'll see your people differently. You two get some rest, those dextro supplies should be here any minute and I'll need to see them aboard. See you guys at dinner?" she asked as she too got up to leave, giving them both a questioning look.

"You shall, thank you." Tali affirmed with a vigorous nod, Bercan nodding much more easily in turn before she smiled and disappeared around the corner. Turning to her guide-slash-crew mate, Tali looked over at him. "Come to think of it, you never did tell me why you don't talk. I understand if you don't want to of course, I'm not trying to pressure you since we barely know each other—oh keelah I'm babbling again aren't I?"

Bercan smiled, an odd noise rising from his throat reminiscent of a chuckle. '_A little. I don't mind. We have some time to kill. Want to play a game?_'

"A game? Sure, I don't see why not. It's not some strange human one is it?" Tali asked, suddenly wary of his intentions.

Finding the game on his omni-tool took very little time since Ranleigh had given him a copy for when he and his sibling couldn't play together. '_No, but it's new to the market. My brother got it for me a few weeks ago. Playing games like this one tend to help calm me down after something…stressful._'

"After Eden Prime? You didn't go on that mission if I recall." Tali muttered as the game's opening screen appeared on her omni-tool, already poking through the options menu.

Bercan couldn't help but scowl a little at the memory. '_I didn't but Hayden did. And she got hurt._' A shadow passed across his face. '_I didn't take the news well._'

Shifting in surprise, Tali stared at him. "What happened? You didn't do anything drastic did you?"

Noting her discomfort, he quickly shook his head, quickly typing. '_No, just hid under my bunk for a few hours. Everybody worked pretty hard to get me out though. If it's big enough for me to fit in, I'm gonna hide in it. Been doin' it since I was a kid. Silly right?_'

"Of course not. We all react in our own ways. At least yours makes the most sense. At least when something does happen, I'll know how to track you down when everyone else is stumped on where to look." The quarian shot back easily, suddenly sounding amused.

Bercan smirked at this, an idea already blossoming in his head. '_Good to know. Cookies always help too._'

"I think I've heard of those…a human food right?" Tali asked, moving on to the next menu in the game.

His response came quickly. '_A treat, sometimes a healthy snack depending on the ingredients. Chocolate chip are a renowned human favorite._'

"Now you're just trying to get me to feed you sweets. It won't work. I know you humans only have so many teeth." The girl deadpanned, somehow catching on to his ploy.

Bercan made a show of visibly wincing at the denial. '_Ouch. Low blow._'

For the first time since meeting her, Tali scoffed. "Don't deny it. Keep this up and I might have to tell on you. What would your siblings think when they find out you're trying to trick your fellow crew mate into getting you extra sugar?" at his annoyed stare, Tali was all but giggling at his indignation. "I'm kidding! For now at least. Now quit distracting me. It won't keep you from losing horribly."

Lip curling smugly, Bercan quirked an eyebrow as the words appeared on her messaging screen. '_Are you sure? Girls aren't exactly known for their aim._'

"If your sister knew you said that, she'll break your nose. But if you're trying to throw me off, you're going to have to do better than that."

Bercan only glared playfully at her, giving the quarian a devilish smile as the game started, filling the quiet space with the theme music and effects. From around the corner leading to the stairs, both Hayden and Ranleigh watched the pair covertly. Looking at one another, the two shared a smile of amusement mixed with perceptive hints to what may truly be forming between their brother and the quarian. Not daring stick around for fear of discovery, the pair of older siblings covertly slipped away to their duties with the knowledge their brother was on track towards proper recovery.

Ugh if I go any further, I'll probably find I can't stop! But hey, at least we're off to a good start right? I should hope so! Twenty pages or more ain't easy, believe you me. I do it all the time! Either way I'm glad for all who stop by to read and review and for my returning readers, thanks so much! Hopefully I'll meet everybody's expectations in the next chapter and the rest that're to come. Until then:

Next chapter:

Chapter 3: The Past…And How It Needs To Stay There

Oh how the past loves popping up when you don't want it too! Don't you just wish it would just be content to be remembered at all? So do the Shepards and their crew but sorry kids, no dice. From giant bugs to troublesome bombs, the past is choosing the oh-so-lovely time of now to crash the party. And as Joker pointed out, this mission just got a lot more complicated. See what happens when '_The Power of Three_' returns with:

_**Chapter 3: The Past…And How It Needs To Stay There!**_


	3. Chapter 3: The PastAnd How It Needs

Hello again everybody! Blue here with another chapter for '_The Power of Three_', where you have to admit it's way better than just two. Either way, we're in for a fun ride! Naturally I don't own Mass Effect but damn I really want that trilogy pack cuz playing just the second one is gettin' pretty old. Enjoy!

"Iii" = speech

"_Iii_" = radio/comm. speech

'_Iii_' = text speech

_Iii_ = thought

Chapter 3: The Past…And How It Needs To Stay There

Staring out the window of the Mako tank and land rover, Bercan couldn't believe he'd agreed to go with his sister and one of their newest crew addition's Garrus on the mission to Therum, his eyes looking out at the lava flows with awe. It reminded him of the volcanoes he'd seen in vids from Hawaii, the small island chain a heavily protected forest and game part of the planet on top of being a classic vacation spot. Compared to other equally romantic tropical spots around the galaxy, going to Hawaii was a cheap trip compared to what other worlds had to offer. Either way, much like South America and even a large chunk of China and Africa, such forests were heavily protected by preservationists and the governments alike. Just thinking about it made him want to take a ship to Earth just to see a real Siberian tiger in person. Shifting in his seat, Bercan felt oddly in place in the back seat of the Mako, his old Light Predator L armor fitting to him like a second skin he hadn't known he'd lost. The dark green armor with its camouflage splotches and bits of black almost made him blend in with the dark interior of the tank, the armor and its under suit in oddly good shape despite being in a box for close to a decade. Like his sister he was armed with a Tempest submachine gun, his new Pinnacle pistol and some tech programs on his omni-tool. In the passenger's seat, Garrus wore his black and blue armor with just his Vindicator rifle and Mantis sniper rifle. Even as he sat in the back in silence, Bercan couldn't help but wonder who was the better shot, Garrus or his sister, who favored the equally powerful Viper rifle. Hayden must've gone shopping because instead of her standard N7 armor, she wore black with bits of red Colossus armor, medium strength if he still knew his equipment.

Both humans wore their helmets, lacking the breather plate and thus exposing their faces while Garrus didn't wear one at all. Given that turians were literally built for intense heat, Bercan highly doubted the man needed his exempt when the gas fumes from the lava pools finally got to be too much. The crackle of the radio brought him out of his thoughts as Joker's voice filled the cabin of the tank. "_Hey commander. I've been doing scans with the Normandy's sensors just north of your position and all of it's off the damn charts. Be careful down there._"

"You got it Joker." Hayden said aloud, letting the radio disconnect before glancing at Garrus who only nodded. Looking back at her youngest sibling, eyes of steel watched him carefully. "Ready back there?"

Bercan let his face become a hard mask, nodding at his sibling slowly. He and Ranleigh did combat sims all the time to keep in shape. Bercan could only hope it would be enough after nearly a decade of inactivity. Glancing between the two, Garrus seemed to pick up on what Bercan knew was his sister's concern over whether he wasn't ready or not. Possibly in a hope of getting her mind off of it, the turian piped in. "If the Shepard clan is like anything I've heard of, he'll pull through. If not, I can always cover him until you can play hero."

"Is that a challenge Garrus?" Hayden retorted casually, though Bercan didn't miss the hint of keenness added just underneath. Knowing that she could see him in the rearview, Bercan fought not to roll his eyes. They'd probably been attracted to each other upon sight for all he knew.

If Garrus picked up on it, he gave no sign as he spoke in his usual sarcastic tones over fiddling with his rifle. "Maybe." Looking at Hayden with a hard expression, his voice lost its lightness in a heartbeat. "I may not be a good turian, but I know when to do my job. With my sniper rifle, I can cover you both while you deal with the sloppy seconds. Give your brother some ample opportunity to take on some real targets rather than a bunch of sloppy assassins."

"How do you know they were sloppy?" Hayden asked, taking a hill and its rather steep downward slope with practiced ease.

The turian's head rolled a bit confidently. "They didn't check the alley he was standing in before starting their party. Naturally we killed them but still. Even after all this time, your brother still has some of his old instincts." Crystal blue eyes fell on Bercan, making him blink, as the turian turned to look back at the other human, his sarcasm back in full force. "Besides if he does turn out to be as good as his file says, I can't let him show me up now can I?"

At that Hayden was almost outright laughing. "Uh-oh. Sounds like a masculine thing to me. Just try not to get shot in-between bouts of showing off okay boys?"

"Can't make a promise I can't keep. Right Bercan?" Garrus asked, his mandibles flexed in a turian grin.

Bercan couldn't help but smile, giving the turian a friendly punch to the shoulder in response, earning a deep-throated laugh in return. In the driver's seat, Hayden smirked as some of the tension drained from her body, silver grey eyes already back to scanning the environment around them for pathways through the lava and any threats nearby. They didn't have to wait long as a massive ship, smooth and shaped almost like a bug, swooped over them. Almost immediately what looked like launching tubes opened on its underside, dark blurs of black falling from the sky like propelled rockets. Upon hitting the ground, the forms unfolded and stood to reveal they were indeed geth troopers, already aiming guns at the Mako tank as it approached. Cursing under her breath, Hayden gripped the wheel with determination on her face. "No way are a bunch of walking pieces of scrap keepin' me from that dig site. If they're here then someone working for Saren must be here for Dr. T'Soni. Garrus get on the gun, take out as many as you can."

"On it." Garrus managed over the loud chatter of rifles, bullets bouncing off the reinforced metal armor of the tank with tinny echoes. Holstering his rifle, the turian got up from his seat and stood out of the small hole in the roof where the turret was.

"Bercan, sit tight." She called back, already working the wheel to flank the troopers. From the roof Garrus was unloading on the intelligent mechs, the heavy duty rounds tearing a number of them to pieces. True to her word, and her nature, Hayden took down what few that still stood in the way and, quite literally, ran them over.

Chuckling deviously at the sound of crunching metal, crackle of short-circuiting tech and loud mechanical squeals of distress, Hayden spoke loudly into their radios even though Bercan could hear her just fine. "Road-kill anyone? I hear it's most delicious with bits of 'oh yeah' and 'take that' in it!"

Letting out his own mirth from the roof, Garrus had to speak through the radio just to be heard over the gun. "_If this is how you drive all the time, I'm surprised only you and your people ever survived Shepard._"

"Don't hack it until you've tried it. Has the esteemed C-Sec officer ever put the pedal to the metal with those Citadel sky cars?"

Garrus chuckled over the comm. line. "_Tempting but no. though given that I'm with you guys, I just might try it to see what happens. And with you at my back, I'll be sure to get away with it too._"

'_You've created a monster._' Bercan wrote to his sister before sending another, hearing a loud guffaw from the roof, knowing the turian had opened the message. '_Don't encourage her. Last time I drove with her, I almost lost my lunch. And my breakfast._'

Looking up at the roof in confusion, Hayden turned in her seat to gaze at him questioningly. "Bercan don't send separate messages! Dammit what did he tell you?!" Hayden demanded in mock annoyance, only getting a smug look in return.

Over the radio, Garrus was busy trying not to laugh. "_Oh nothing too particularly vital Commander. Just find me more geth to shoot at._"

"You got it, big guy." Hayden grit back, though the smirk on her face and the tone of her voice made the hard words harmless. Eyes back on what was the closest thing to a road, she stiffened in her seat as she took a tight turn through a large pool. "Looks like more of 'em, two o'clock!"

"_I'm on it!_" Garrus called back, the mechanical whir of the turret following before the chi-chi-chick of the gun filled their ears. Ahead, Bercan could see more of the geth troopers lose shields and then functionality in just a few shots. Given how many there were, he had to guess the AI's relied on their ability to download into any platform to make up for any physical losses, gaining combat data in turn. From what little he knew, and from what Tali had told him, this was an effective way to ensure the geth never truly went down. All they had to do was recover or make new platforms, upload the necessary coding and they were back in action. _The quarian's greatest work... and their biggest failure._ Bercan broke out of his thoughts when the tank turned suddenly, making his window, and his view of the outside, shift to reveal a massive beast of a mech. Standing tall and covered in dull silver-colored metal, a four-legged stood over them with a long neck and a small oblong head like a giraffe. On its face was a simple, stretched out circle filled with light, acting as its eyes and if the way it was shooting large bolts of energy, doubled as a turret.

"_It's called an 'Armature'! Try and take it down with the cannon!_" Garrus called over the radio, already turning the massive turret towards the giant machine.

Letting out more curses, Hayden struggled with the wheel in an effort to avoid the hulking construct. As more gunfire and the whistle of a missile-like ball of energy smashed into the ground outside, she twisted her head long enough to shout. "Bercan, you're up. I'll try and keep us from taking damage!"

Bercan was already halfway out of his seat when she said it, trying to move with the motions of the tank so not to trip and fall to the floor like a rookie. The cannon controls were in a further back section of the vehicle, almost like normal tanks but was fitted to work over Garrus's plated head. Once seated the display lit up, the gun's camera showing him just what it was pointed at and how far, a number of the side displays already alight with data. Silver grey eyes glanced between them all with expert confidence as his gloved fingers already swept over the console, his right hand grabbing hold of the century's old and very traditional joystick. Since the tank was facing away from the Armature, he had to use the joystick to shift the cannon's position to get a clear shot. Thankfully it'd yet to shoot another white fireball at them. As the machinery responded to his commands, the camera showing it was indeed turning, he could hear Garrus firing the turret like mad. At some point, Hayden must've pulled out her pistol and was now firing along with him, likely to lighten the turian's workload. He didn't dare let the ensuing gun battle distract him, knowing the towering Armature was his objective. At the edges of the cannon's camera Bercan could see more and more of the geth infantry fall to his team's sharp shooting, which meant he was the only one focused on their larger ally. Once in position, Bercan didn't hesitate to arm the large caliber gun and firing. With a resounding explosion, the slug shot out and hit the Armature right in the head, the readings telling him he'd just weakened its shields but little else. Annoyed, Bercan growled audibly though whether anyone heard him he didn't know or notice as he fired again and again. Eventually the Armature's shields failed, going down with a flicker and a loud crackle as Bercan pointed the cannon at the machine's glowing face. He twitched his trigger finger on the joystick one last time, watching closely to see the result. His mouth split itself wide in a grin when the machine's oddly shaped head blew apart, the rest of it going stock still before blasting apart in a violent cascade failure.

Letting go of the joystick, Bercan couldn't help but bounce like a little kid in his seat, clapping loudly to himself in the sudden quiet. Whether his teammates took notice of what he was doing, they gave no sign, sporadic gunfire filling the tank and the surrounding terrain as the last of the infantry troops. At the front of the tank, he could hear his sister chuckling from behind the wheel. "_Did you have fun there little brother?_"

'_I did. Can we do it again?_' Bercan typed out in his excitement, nearly causing him to make numerous spelling errors.

A hearty laugh answered his reply, soon followed by a hum of approval from Garrus who'd also received the message. "_Make that two monsters._" Putting the tank back into gear, the surrounding terrain finally going by at a more casual pace she spoke again. "_Keep an eye out, we're only just getting started._"

Hayden's prediction rang true as the road ahead kept being blocked again and again by geth forces. More than once they faced an Armature, only hiding behind a small number of VI operated cannons and within the boundaries of the local industrial depot. The way Hayden had literally driven in circles around the enclosed space had almost made Bercan sick. He had no idea if turians could get 'sea sick' but he hoped the alien was at least as dizzy as he was when she finally stopped. They stuck around for a few minutes, searching the buildings for anything useful: guns, mods, credits if any, even omnigel and suits of armor they usually had to spend a great deal for. They got shot at by one or two geth troopers still remaining, only to get shot up by Hayden and Garrus. At their direction, Bercan broke into the supply and private lockers with full knowledge their owners would never return. It pained him upon seeing an old style photo of a man and a woman standing together, the woman holding a baby in her arms and the man with a small boy on his shoulder. From the way they came together and smiled, it was clearly a family shot of one of the soldiers meant to be guarding the depot. In his sadness Bercan couldn't help but stare at it a moment before moving on. Quickly he pocketed the photo and what few personal items that were inside into a pouch in his suit. Putting a note on his omni-tool for later, and near the very top of his many files, the title of it clearly stating the man's name so he wouldn't lose track of it. Rank and other information were equally confirmed, as well as the collected items for inventory and future delivery to his family. Much to his relief, the rest of the lockers were fit with bare essentials, impersonal to say the least but he checked them anyway. Upon getting back to the tank he nudged his sister to get her attention. Once she did turn to him, he showed her the photo and then the file he'd made.

Silver grey eyes, same as his, glanced between the photo, the document and his face with a grim expression. Her mouth a thin line, Hayden nodded slowly. "At least we can tell somebody other than our superiors what happened here. You did good snatching this up. Just don't let it get damaged and whatnot okay?"

Bercan nodded back, his own face set with dark shadows full of regret. Had they been to the depot earlier, could they have saved the soldiers? Now, after the fact, it was hard to say but the fact remained. Putting the piece of glossy paper back into his pocket, he settled back into his seat as they moved along, facing little resistance until reaching the tunnel cutting through one of the planet's mountains, and forced to take down the Armature's slightly larger cousin the Colossus. Like before, he and his teammates took great pleasure in bringing the giant mech down in a pile of barely functioning scrap. He even stayed at the cannon controls throughout their passage through the tunnel to shoot the geth as they appeared from around the enclosed space's smooth turns. Upon exiting, and faced with a pair of rocket launcher bearing geth, one of whom was already firing at them as they came back out into the open air managed to hit the tank right on its nose. Scowling openly at the mechs, Hayden growled with almost unnatural aggression as she all but slammed the gas pedal to the floor. "Oh no you didn't!"

Again seated next to her, Garrus watched in open surprise as his commanding officer ran both of the mechs over, repeatedly, until they ceased to function. "Shoot your damn rockets at me will ya?" she snarled in her barely contained ire as she got them further down the road.

Watching her cautiously, Garrus shifted in his seat almost nervously. "Was that really necessary Shepard?"

"When you've got a shitload of batarians shooting those things at you while you're fighting to survive, ask me that again."

"Right. Should we ever get into that exact scenario, I'll try to remember to ask you that." The turian mumbled half to himself, hoping his words would act as a distraction from the woman's well-contained rage. In hindsight, he was certain they'd find the whole thing amusing but he wasn't about to risk it considering the look on her face. He'd seen drunken humans get mad but he tried not to think of what a sober, biotic human soldier looked like. At least, not angry with him.

"Damn! Blocked, and there doesn't seem to be another way up. Looks like it's on foot from here boys. Stay sharp." Hayden called out loud enough for Bercan to hear her from the back of the tank where he'd stayed to man the cannon. Looking up the path where they needed to go, Bercan saw that she was right: it was blocked with a wall of stone, the malformed rock rising high and uneven over them like venomous clouds trapped in place. Given how volcanic the rest of the planet was, that was no surprise. Ahead of them, a small space big enough for people had been cut into it, the rest dug out of the soft dirt leading up the hill and towards the barely visible metal structures at the top. Even as he examined it all carefully, his sister was talking again. "I'd say from all the noise we've been making, any forces up there are probably ready for us. Bercan, since this is your first time out into the field in a while, you're in the middle while Garrus is our support from the back. I'll be going in on point. Ready?"

When Bercan nodded, Garrus mirrored him as he spoke, knowing the human didn't mind if he spoke for them both. "We've got your six Shepard. Just tell us where we need to be."

"Alright. Let's go." She stated, her face quick to become the battle-hardened mask she always wore, even when doing sims.

Tempest in hand, she moved forward, followed soon by Bercan and then by Garrus, his sharp eyes watching the terrain ahead with his Viper rifle pointed to the space far ahead. All along the path there were stone formations that clearly others were unable to clear away, their almost even placement making for good cover. Not even five steps into the path towards the official dig site, the geth seemed to appear from nowhere with guns at the ready. Even the barely visible sight of a targeting laser was warning enough to scramble for cover. Her armored body once again shimmering with her biotic barrier, Hayden managed to run forward before sliding behind one of the large rock formations, Bercan able to do the same as a high-powered round zinged off the ground where he'd been. Behind them, Garrus had followed suit, his large form just barely getting out of harm's way as the geth began to fire at them. The battle lasted half as long as the last few, mostly through Bercan's surprising participation in things: one by one the geth fell due to overheated weapons from his sabotage program. He and Hayden worked together to get the mechanical warriors out of cover just for Garrus to shoot them down. The constant flare of biotics and tech commands was something the turian was having trouble looking away from. Naturally he got rid of the sniper and a few other geth at the top of the hill but the rest he left to the Shepards. They were pretty focused and he didn't want to spoil their fun. A few minutes later and all the geth were dead, and they moved with silent efficiency up the hill. To their left was the dig site and various scaffolding. To their right was likely the supply and housing sections of the work site. Almost predictably more geth appeared from their right, most of which they took down with little effort. It was when they headed for the main dig site to their left that things quickly became difficult.

Approaching the tall scaffolding, a loud thump caught their attention, putting the trio on alert. They didn't have to wait for long as a rather odd looking geth, with a slender body, even smaller but longer and oddly bent limbs came crashing down before them. They had to dive away from it and into cover just as another geth drop ship rumbled overhead, yet again pausing long enough to drop several troopers before another followed, dropping another Armature. Too shocked and angered by the development to even curse, Hayden was already pointing her gun at the hulking mass of silver metal, hoping to wear it down some as she hit its shields with an overload program from her omni-tool. "Garrus! Focus on the troops, keep them off us. Bercan take down those damn jumpin' ones! I'll deal with the big gun."

"Roger that!" Garrus shouted as he overloaded a pair of geth only to shoot them dead with his Vindicator. Only a targeting laser got him to duck down again, already prepping his omni-tool for another go. Meanwhile, Bercan combat rolled his way to a separate piece of cover, silver grey eyes watching the odd geth as they literally jumped around like frogs on steroids. All that meant was he had to act quickly and carefully if he was going to take them down. But they were moving so fast and with such unnatural grace it was actually making him a little angry at them. They'd come to get a civilian who probably needed to be rescued at this point, and these damn things were wasting his, or rather 'their', time.

Not for long. Bercan thought darkly as he moved to activate his omni-tool but rather than pull up his earlier programs, he activated something he'd been tweaking for years. Flickering to life in front of him, Bercan couldn't help but smile at the sight of his combat drone. Made of plasma and energy, the yellow and white holographic construct chattered almost musically at him once he entered his commands. Gliding with an unnatural grace, the drone made its way into the open space of the scaffolds where the pair of jumping geth bounced around in. Almost in moments the odd mechs were firing their bright red lasers at the drone, the construct dodging aptly and sending up bolts of energy up at them in response. When they fell still to attack the drone was when Bercan struck, hitting them with his sabotage program and shooting them dead when they fell to the ground in their shock. Once the pair of geth were dead, he turned his attention to the rest of the group that'd appeared. Most of the regular troops were gone thanks to Garrus but it looked like Hayden was working fairly hard to get the Armature to lose its powerful shields. Knowing that they both needed his help, Bercan directed his drone to attack the remaining troopers as he sent a damping grenade at the massive geth that sent another ball of energy screeching through the air. The powerful shot blew apart against the pile of supplies Hayden was hiding behind, making the boxes shudder in response. His attack didn't go unnoticed though, the Armature turning its mechanical head in his direction, shifting its large form to face the engineer. Off to the side, his drone was under fire by one of the last of the troopers, the geth fighter doing its best to avoid getting zapped by the holographic machine. The low whine of a charging cannon brought Bercan's attention back to the Armature, which had brought its front legs together to fire another powerful blast at him. Seconds became centuries as he dove out of the way and back into cover, the ball of plasma energy making a dark scorch mark on the dirt where he'd been. As he rolled in the ash-filled dirt, Bercan could hear his sister call to him over the sounds of the massive geth moving to target her again. Getting to his feet again, gun in hand, Bercan was firing until the heat warning began to go off as the trio shot at the now ailing mech relentlessly. Finally it began to list to the side as sparks shot through its large form, all of them ducking as it exploded apart.

Parts falling harmlessly in all directions, the mech's corpse had become a hulking mass of sparking wires and small fires. Holstering their weapons, Bercan's drone having distracted the final geth trooper so Garrus could shoot it, they gathered in the open as if to survey their work. At some point his drone had vanished when it finally ran out of power, leaving the three of them in the sudden quiet of Therum's distantly bubbling surface. Possibly in an effort to break the silence that'd fallen over them, Bercan lifted a foot and swung it to kick the remains of the Armature's leg. The sound it produced, and the amused laughter that followed, was satisfying as when they'd broken it. Cocking her hip as she grinned, Hayden chuckled openly. "Guess you're not so rusty after all, little brother. Ready for the next level?"

The human male nodded as he moved to lead the way towards the large, round metal door leading down into the ruins. Watching the man move away and out of earshot, Garrus looked to the commander in question. "Next level?" he asked, his dual-toned voice hinting at his curiosity.

Nodding slowly as they walked after her brother, Hayden kept her smile in place though her tone hinted at an underlying sadness. "We've found that getting him to do things as if they're a game is good for his recovery, plus it helps keep him engaged. He's been doing simulations for years but he knows the difference between reality and a holographic enemy. Give him an arcade or shooter game, even an RP, he'll kick your ass. Show him a pack of cards and he's all but hopeless, even if it's for fun. It's a work in progress though." She added before smirking almost deviously at the turian. "Or it could be he's just waiting for the right moment until someone bets something really interesting."

Chuckling, Garrus could tell what she was doing. "Trying to scare me off Shepard? I'll tell you, it's not working. Maybe I could give him some pointers." As they stopped by said man, Garrus spoke to him in the same friendly tones as before. "What do ya say Bercan? Finally beat your siblings a Skyllian Five?"

Bercan grinned happily at the turian, nodding approvingly before returning to his scans of the large metal door blocking their way. After a moment, he moved away with a nod, waving for Garrus to help him get the large metal door open. With some heaving the pair got it open, Hayden standing by with her gun in hand, turning on the light attached to it to pierce the darkness within. In the vague sunlight, they could see another door further down, the slope of the metal tube making it easy to walk down and open that one too. The door opened with a low rumble to reveal more darkness broken only by small lights, leading further into the earth of the planet. Now with their own weapons in hand, Bercan and Garrus soon followed Hayden down, all three wary of more threats. The way ahead was made up of metal walkways with safety railings, the rock walls as rough as the ones above. At the end of the walkway was the rest of the large cavern leading down, and the elevator that'd been built for the trip to get there. Near the end of the first level, more geth appeared, which they dealt with quickly before heading down the ramps towards the elevator. Again they were attacked, this time by drones, the very same that'd killed Jenkins. These too, were dealt with, the three soldiers entering the elevator, Bercan scanning it to see if it was stable for use. Only when he nodded did Hayden press the button, causing the metal box to slowly descend them further into the depths of the ruin. Close to halfway down did it suddenly decide to malfunction, making Hayden curse in annoyance at yet another delay towards their goal. Looking at him, Garrus could see Bercan was just as irritated though probably over the malfunction, and the violent short circuiting than the loss of transport to the bottom. Much to their relief however, the elevator didn't have a door, making getting out to the broken ramps much easier. Hayden almost fell a time or two, making Bercan gasp loudly in response. Though there were more lights to illuminate the darkness of the cavern, the glow of a barrier was hard to miss the further they got, the loud echoes of their descent hard to miss. Sure enough, a voice called out, soft, frightened and distinctly feminine cut through the quiet. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Finally at the bottom and coming to stand just before the barrier, the wall of energy shimmering lazily like water but still easy to see through, Hayden looked in to see the smooth walls and floor, a console and an asari floating in midair in a bubble also made of another barrier similar to the one separating them. Eyes of pure blue watched them fearfully, clearly unsure of who they were and what they wanted. Still she spoke. "Can you get me out? I was trying to get away from the geth but I must've pressed something and now I'm trapped like this."

"Dr. Liara T'Soni? You're not allied with Matriarch Benezia? Or Saren?" Hayden queried warily. Aside from the occasional store vender, she had little experience with asari so she wasn't taking any chances.

But the expression on the young woman's light blue face appeared genuine as she blinked her surprise at the questions. "Benezia? I haven't spoken to my mother in years. And I've only heard of Saren. Has something happened?"

Choosing her words carefully, Hayden nodded. "I'm Commander Shepard and Saren has been declared unfit as a Spectre and we're hoping to find and arrest him. If need be, kill him. We think he's after you and your expertise. If he's willing to send geth to come get you, and you resisted, I'd say it's safe you're innocent in all this."

"That's what this is about? Goddess and I thought this was some sort of raid. If it means finding the truth, please let me out. You should be able to reach the elevator behind me through the chamber below this one, though how you'll do it is beyond me." Liara admitted with a hint of regret in her voice.

As Hayden began to ponder this, it seemed Bercan beat her too it by nudging her. Curious, she looked to him. "What is it?" the question was answered with him pointing down into the camp, right at a large piece of equipment. This made her grin at her brother's quick thinking and observations. "Mining laser huh? Good thinkin' Bercan."

He smiled a little, only to frown when something shifted in the dark, catching his eye. Not hesitating to draw his gun, Bercan was the first to move forward, knowing the other two would cover him as he went. The battle that arose was short but violent, several geth shooting both guns and rockets, including a rather persistent sniper who was quickly silenced by a well-placed shot by Garrus. Some tweaking and crossed wires later, the mining laser was activated and pointed right at the slope of dirt leading into camp, Bercan at the controls while his teammates scoured for more supplies. Once done, they proceeded into the chamber similar to the one a level up, taking the odd looking platform up to reach the scientist. Facing the ancient console, Hayden felt a strange familiarity with the confusing text, almost as if she'd seen it before. Deciding not to dwell on it, she reached forward and pressed the first key that caught her eye, the bubble holding the asari scientist aloft vanishing. With a somewhat graceless landing to the smooth floor, the asari picked herself up easily, dusting bits of dirt off her white and green jumpsuit. "Thank you. I thought I'd never be free of that."

"So you have no clue why Saren or your mother are after you?" Hayden asked once again, giving the asari an inquisitive look.

Frowning but obviously understanding the human woman's suspicion, Liara only shook her head. "None, thought it seems the krogan merc they sent, and his geth troops were quite insistent I go with them. That's when I locked myself in here to get away from them. I'm not sure where they went but this platform should get us back to the surface."

Before more could be said, they all nearly stumbled as the earth around them shook quick and violent, making them look about in confusion. For perhaps the first time, Garrus sounded unsure as he asked. "What was that?"

"This site is unstable and that move with the mining laser may have caused a seismic event. We should leave quickly if we're to avoid being like the rest of this planet." Liara suggested, pointing to said platform but didn't move, instead trusting her rescuers to take the lead instead.

"Agreed. Let's get moving." Hayden said with a quick nod, already bringing a hand up to the bud in her ear, activating the radio channel. "Joker, we need you to meet us at the ruins ASAP. We might need an emergency pick up."

"_On our way._" The pilot responded over the comm. before going quiet.

Checking her weapon as they walked over the elevator's large platform, Hayden spoke with pure authority in her voice. "And if that krogan gets in the way, Bercan, you watch the doctor. Hopefully we'll get out of here before this smokestack pops its lid." She said as she once again fiddled with the alien console, oddly able to put in the right commands.

Bercan nodded grimly, going as far as handing the scientist his Tempest as he armed himself with his Pinnacle, silently bidding to take the weapon. Obviously nervous, the asari scientist took it with shaking hands but didn't say anything. She was clearly scared of her new situation, at least until Bercan nudged her foot with his. Confused, she stared at the human as he continued to poke and prod until he had her mirroring his stance. Each time his touches were light and gentle, but brief enough to be almost ghostly, getting the asari scientist to straighten her back, brace her legs, bend her knees and hold the gun properly and pointed at the ground. He stopped as the elevator began to slow, falling still as they were faced with the very krogan and his geth support. Whatever Liara wanted to say to him was quickly forgotten in the face of the new danger. The krogan's words were lost on them, as were the responses Hayden gave him, sparking the gunfight they'd hoped to avoid. Once the bullets started to fly, Bercan maneuvered to shield the scientist from it all as he fired with careful accuracy. Sabotaging more than one geth trooper kept both of them from being shot full of holes, siccing his drone on the last few as he had no choice but to watch his only sister contend with the krogan battle master. Its large form was covered in the familiar blue/purple mist of biotics, which Hayden countered with a thin barrier and a heavy warp. It quickly became a battle of biotics as the two sent attack after another at each other and given how it was going, the krogan was on edge of winning. Or at least he would have if Liara's own form didn't spark up the blue mist, sending a ball of energy at the hulking mass of flesh, throwing him off balance. It was all Hayden needed to finish the krogan off, bodily attacking the larger alien with a combat knife even Bercan couldn't say on where it'd appeared. With a decisive stab to the eye, forcing the blade up and into his brains, she quickly pulled back and sheathed the knife as the ceiling began to come apart. Yelling loudly over the growing rumbles, Hayden waved them all up the ramp towards daylight, and safety. A loud crash of rock and the cloud of dust that followed all but propelled the group out and onto less than soft dirt, making Bercan thankful he'd worn his helmet. Somewhere above, he could hear the _Normandy_ coming in to pick them up, so he figured that all things considered… today had been a good day. Dusting himself off, and accepting his gun back from Liara, he followed them all back onto the ship to clean up and say 'mission accomplished'.

Ranleigh felt a stab of irritation. Once again he was faced with a new member of the crew, another alien which he didn't mind in the least. The fact the woman was so…clueless was his issue. True the young asari was a civilian being dragged into a rather interesting situation but that didn't excuse the fact that she was a scientist and not a soldier. _Or even a commando! This isn't 'Indiana Jones'! This is a serious mission meant to be handled by serious people and not…this woman! I was tolerant of the others for their applicable skills. But her? You've got to be kidding me._ He thought in his frustration, skillfully keeping his distaste off his face as eyes of sky blue stared up at him in awe. Much like Tali, Liara was obviously marveling at his almost unnatural height. Sure enough, Hayden was talking. "Easy there big guy, don't be acting cranky in front of our new addition. I know you're unhappy…."

"Unhappy?" he queried, his deep voice low and rumbling like a bear growl. More than one crewman shivered in fear, some for…other reasons.

"I know, I know but we couldn't just leave her down there. Plus she can probably tell us about the beacon on Eden Prime and what Saren might be after. Just bear with me okay?" Hayden soothed him. She always was the silver tongue of their family. Ranleigh scowled a little but eventually nodded, watching his sister turning her attention to the asari next to her. "Sorry if he's being rude. Ranleigh doesn't take certain changes very well."

Blue eyes widened, staring at them both in awe of the new information. "Ranleigh? As in, Lieutenant Commander Ranleigh Shepard, the Butcher of Torfan? I'd heard he was quite big for a human but to be so…tall. Was he always this massive?" she asked in her soft voice made it hard to miss the surprise in her tone.

Hayden chuckled, a sly grin stretching her features. "Let's just say puberty was an interesting time period for him. And you've already met Bercan, our youngest brother. He works on the engines with Tali and Adams." Bercan nodded at the asari, who nodded back as he moved to head to the stern to clean up.

"Tali?" Liara asked, finally registering the name. It didn't sound like any human name that she knew of.

"I'll explain later. For now, let's get you settled before the mission debrief. Ranleigh, go ahead and guide Liara to the crew deck while I talk to Joker. And try to be civil." Hayden warned playfully, only making the larger man glare at her snickering form as she headed to the cockpit to talk to Joker.

Clearing the hostile expression quickly, Ranleigh turned to the smaller blue woman and spoke as coolly as his temper would allow. "This way if you please, Dr. T'Soni."

"Thank you, it's nice to have a stable environment for a change. I trust I haven't done or said anything to offend you?" the asari as they passed by the galaxy map and CIC to head back down to the crew deck. Bercan had already vanished down the stairs so there was no way of pulling him into taking over.

Glancing back at the woman, Ranleigh answered with enough casual bluntness as he could so not to offend her in turn. "Not exactly. The thought of a civilian on a military vessel is an unwise course to chart. As much as we need your expertise on the Protheans, to say you could cause issues is unavoidable. One can only hope you won't be liability in the field if my sister decides to bring you along."

Liara frowned but didn't deny it, nodding slowly before saying. "Your brother seemed open to my presence back at the dig site. He even gave me one of his guns in which to defend myself."

Ranleigh processed the information for a moment, not at all surprised his younger brother would do such a thing. "That was just him being helpful. But that'll matter very little when he's not there to make you comfortable in a bad situation. We have access to suppliers and combat simulations. I suggest looking into both once you're properly settled. Since most of the on ship quarters are full-up, the only spot I can think to put you is with Dr. Chakwas, our medic. You'll find her quite friendly compared to me." he informed her as they headed right for the door to the far right, the metal barrier opening to let them through when they got close enough.

Stepping in after him, the asari scientist examined the large room quickly before turning back to her guide, daring to give him the friendliest smile she could. "I don't know, you seem pretty friendly right now."

"Then be sure to do well to keep it that way. Be sure to come to me, my sister or another crew member if you're having problems. Dr. Chakwas." Ranleigh greeted her curtly just before he turned on his heel, letting the silence that followed to emphasize his point.

Chuckling low in her throat, the aged physician waved for the asari over the only other door at the end of the bay, speaking kindly. "Don't let his attitude bother you dear, he's like that with all people he's not familiar with. He'll warm up to you eventually. This way."

Approaching the human, Liara tried not to stand awkwardly in the door frame of the small office/living space. Only one thing made her gawk, common courtesy kicking in. "There's only one bed. Where will you sleep?"

Chakwas smiled, her green eyes sparkling in amusement. "As a medical officer, I'm sometimes awake at all hours for whatever may arise. I don't mind sharing if it means we both get a healthy amount of sleep. You may even use the terminal at the desk all you like. I mainly use the one in the main section of the med bay so it's no issue. I assure you that you're not imposing in the slightest. And given what you've been through, I'm obligated to give you a medical checkup after I've acquired your records."

"The last few hours have been stressful. And you are in charge of medical affairs…I don't see why not." Liara admitted, the events of the last few hours finally coming down on her as a cloak of fatigue she was having trouble shaking off. Gazing at the human doctor curiously, she asked. "You are familiar with asari biology?"

"I am, as well as turian and a few others though Miss Tali'Zorah is giving me a more accurate insight on quarians." Chakwas informed her casually, still smiling now with a hint of confidence without the stain of ego. "Not to worry. My experiences should speak for themselves."

At this Liara finally laughed. "Indeed."

Hayden sighed as she lay down on her bed in the captain's quarters. Telling the Council of her efforts so far made her tired. Naturally they'd been less than pleased to hear a valuable archeological site had been lost, even when she explained the planet was on giant _volcano_ just waiting to go up. Still the bid her to keep looking and discover why Saren needed Liara for whatever insanity the man had planned. What's more, the meld with Liara had tired them both out, making Hayden desperately want to nap though it was practically mid afternoon. Only all the reports she needed to read, write and other such work kept her from giving in to the sleep she desperately wanted. As much as she wanted to lock her door and ignore everything for the next couple of hours, her brothers were probably right back to working with Bercan down in engineering and Ranleigh wandering around and being…well Ranleigh. The most she could do now was get some paperwork done to keep it from piling up later. Forcing herself up off the bed, and quite glad she'd changed into military-issue fatigues, Hayden planted her tired body at the desk and switched the terminal on. Seeing all the messages in her inbox only made her groan but she knew that if she was going to keep up with her siblings, she was going to have to tough it out like always. Giving her head and shoulder a roll, flexing her fingers, silver grey eyes scanned the holographic display carefully as she started reading what it said before typing up responses.

Wrex stood in one of the few open spaces of the shuttle bay, his large crimson eyes giving the large human before him a questioning look. For whatever reason, he'd insisted on spreading out a bunch of mats which they now stood upon, saying it was for safety though for whom Wrex couldn't say. Still he couldn't deny the rush of the moment was giving him, since it wasn't everyday one got to fight the Butcher of Torfan in a friendly match of hand-to-hand combat. Seeing the young turian currently working on the Mako fight would've been an interesting fight but getting to take on Ranleigh Shepard was a treat he wasn't about to avoid for anything. Already he could sense the younger human female, Williams his sharp mind provided, trying not to watch them with uncertainty in her dark eyes. Even one or two of the crewman had gathered near the requisitions station, huddled together as they spoke on low tones, movements almost nervous with excitement. Crimson met reddish brown, the color reminding him of polished wood, as he growled out. "Sure you want to do this? I could snap you in half."

"The last krogan to try got a knife in the eye for his effort. Granted that was after I took down the four …or five with him." Ranleigh stated so casually, Wrex was certain the human found his past opponents, though strong, as barely worth mentioning.

A dry scoff escaped his rough throat, thick lips stretching his weathered face almost menacingly, Wrex shook his large head in his dark amusement. "A bunch of whelps, dumb as they were, taking on another whelp? How is that a good example?"

"Only if two of them were younger than you and the others were as old as you, and none of them had a brain cell to work with. Didn't even last five minutes." Ranleigh bit back, as if suddenly annoyed with the memory.

This made Wrex stare. He knew many things but this was news to him. He'd heard a few Blood Pack krogan had been taken down but no one really knew who'd killed them. _Leave it to this human to kill a bunch of idiot krogan mercenaries and not care._ He thought as he smirked his response. "Hm, impressive, for once. Alright whelp, let's see if you can take me on."

"Is that what we're doing? I thought I was waiting for the bus. Why? What did you come here to do?" the large human queried, his face still a blank mask but his voice hinted at the sliver of humor in his eyes.

Wrex chuckled. "Quaint. Just don't disappoint me by holding back."

Ranleigh didn't answer that time, instead watching the older krogan with a seasoned gaze, the tension in the air thick enough to cut as the both squared their shoulders, braced their legs and with a flare of biotic power, charged at each other. The collision was as powerful as it was violent, waves of blue energy coming off the pair as move after another was exchanged in a torrent of power. They poured in as much as they dared, an azure cloud hanging over their respective forms in an almost primal display. Fists met flesh, limbs countered limbs, their steps loud scuffles, collisions almost like thunder in the quiet of the bay. Out of the corners of his vision, Ranleigh was certain a number of the crew were making bets as they battered away at each other, knowing that their display had probably drawn a crowd. Ranleigh could almost hear their shouts over the roar in his ears, egging one opponent to strike at the other. Whatever they were saying, he wasn't one to play dirty, even with a krogan battle master. After what felt like forever they broke apart, their abnormally large forms heaving with the need for breath and exhaustion, Ranleigh's fatigues looked almost soaked with sweat. Knowing how krogan and turian scent glands were more refined that a human's, he was sure he was stinking up a storm. In hindsight, Ranleigh was also certain that most every human in the vicinity could smell him too, and probably wouldn't be repulsed. Wrex however was smiling again.

"You fight well. Though you had plenty of opportunity to strike me down, quite a few times in fact. Why not do so?" Wrex asked, voice rougher than normal from the rush of the fight and the thrill it brought. Only his countless years of experience kept him stable and clearheaded.

Ranleigh's unnaturally emotionless face twisted a bit, as if disgusted with the thought of cheating in a fair fight. "And insult you with an underhand move? Maybe fuel you into a blood rage, making you go out of control? Not likely. Only cowards use such moves on truly worthy opponents. I'm not like that."

Deep rumbles of laughter came up from the krogan's throat, a dark smile gracing the alien's face. "What you did on Torfan says otherwise, wouldn't you say?"

Orbs of red brown stared, their inner depths barely showing the roiling emotions that were roused by the question. Instead, Ranleigh maintained his cool exterior. "This was a good exercise. Inform me again when you wish to fight next. Someone has to keep you from tearing the ship apart."

"That you shall. Until next time, LC." Wrex said with a grateful nod, not pressing the matter any further. Centuries of fighting had taught the old krogan how to see danger in another man's eyes. And Ranleigh's were probably the most dangerous he's seen. Pushing his luck was bound to start something he had little idea on how to stop, much less evade.

"Until then." Ranleigh stated casually, or as casually as he could. On the inside, he was still boiling, still aching to keep going, keep fighting. But if he did, he'd probably do more damage than the ancient krogan, maybe even Garrus too if they fought. The match was a good way to get rid some of the cabin fever he'd been feeling for a while but now he needed to find a different kind of distraction to keep his focus. I hope the bunkroom is empty. Ranleigh mused darkly as he made his way to the crew deck, not bothering to acknowledge his fellow crewmen as they noted his passing. The few that recognized his state of mind wisely avoided him, urging others to do the same to avoid provoking him. There was a reason he was called the Butcher of Torfan. As much as he regretted killing so many, pirates and slavers though they were but a massacre they could've avoided, Ranleigh knew himself well enough to keep his distance should something spark his volatile temper. Killing thousands of batarians with a clear head was lengthy as it was tiring but for him? It was mostly a big, crimson red blur of a myriad of faces, yells and screams all mixed together into a horrific mess that stank of copper. When he'd finished, rising from his 'blood haze' brought to life by anger, adrenaline and the deaths of his teammates, he was covered almost head to toe in red batarian blood, only his helmet keeping the life water from getting into his mouth and eyes. Didn't keep the stench out of the filters though, most of it already clotting to fill his helmet with the scent. The elevator coming to a stop brought Ranleigh out of his memory, stiffly walking to the bunkroom with every intention of finding his bed and lying on it. His almost unnatural size meant he couldn't sit on the floor like he wanted, so he used his bed to meditate, calm his emotions and organize his thoughts. He'd been doing it since he was a kid, back when he'd pushed Hayden down in a fit of anger over a toy. All who'd witnessed him in this state acted immediately, telling his parents what he'd done. Not about to treat their son like a monster, both Hannah and Markus Shepard invested what they could in getting him under control. His current level of control, without meds or implants, were the high marks of their success, bidding him to use his almost krogan like rage when all other options failed. A fact that obviously hadn't escaped his older sister when she'd gotten him transferred under her command.

Entering the bunkroom, Ranleigh dared let out a sigh of relief to see the room was mostly empty save for the few peacefully sleeping before they had to get up for the night shift. Moving with an equally unnatural stealth, in clear defiance of his height and girth, the hulking man made his way through the room to his bunk and lay down on it. Shifting only a little to get comfortable upon the itchy blanket and the stiff pillow, Ranleigh shut his eyes and folded his hands over his stomach. Once there, his fingers twitched in time with the first stage of his process: counting down so to bring his violent inner storm to bear, coupled with steady breathing. Eventually his mind cleared and the storm passed, dark grey turning to a milky white as he continued to count, a part of his mind ever conscious of when he needed to get back up for any work he still had to do for the day.

Bercan was glad to be back in the engine room, the massive room lit up by the blue glow of the Tantalus drive. Standing at his station, fingers seeming to fly over the holographic keyboard of his console, he couldn't help but smile a little at how things were finally becoming routine for him. A few days ago, Ashley had learned the hard way that changing things on him was not a wise thing, causing him to nearly tear the kitchen area of the mess apart looking for a special snack he'd been wanting to eat all week. Like any other work place, he'd put his name on the package and everything. That still didn't stop the female soldier from moving the box to a different spot, the highest shelf when none could see it, even herself when she put just about everything else back before leaving. At first he'd tried not to panic, naturally assuming they'd been moved and began his search, only to find to his worry growing into fear that they'd been eaten or maybe even tossed out. His frantic activity finally caught the attention of Garrus as the turian came walking through, openly gaping at the mess the ensign had made in his desperation for his snack food. Never in all his life had Garrus seen one human make such a tidy space look so cluttered with boxes, cans and other containers of dry foods, all spread out over the island counter and even stuffed into the sink to make room in his search. He would've spoken if Hayden, coming from her quarters with a datapad in hand, turned into the kitchen only to also gape at the mess. "What the-! Bercan! What are you doing?"

The suddenness and ire in her voice had made him jump, looking at his sister in brief surprise before turning into a childish sort of regret as he hunched his shoulders, as if to make himself a small target. Thankfully Garrus came to his rescue by stepping forward, mandibles shifting about in thoughtful amusement. "I think he might be searching for something. Though what or why isn't known to me either."

Bercan had straightened once Garrus started talking, thankful the turian was there to deflect some of his sister's fury. He had been about to start typing a response on his omni-tool when the culprit behind it all came walking in, dressed in fatigues like everybody else. Eyes of silver fell on her as Bercan openly glared at the brunette woman, pointing at her and holding his arms wide at the organized mess he'd made. Upon seeing his gestures, and the present state of the kitchen, Ashley and stared at it like a doe caught in the headlights. "Whoa." Had been her response to the sight before her, both her voice and Bercan's animated reaction making both Hayden and Garrus stare at the gunnery chief.

Glowering at the human woman, Hayden did her best to keep her voice level when she spoke. "Ash, did you move something and forget to put it back?"

Blinking at her commander's words, guilt flooded the woman's dark brown eyes. "I might have but I can't recall what it was. Is… that why the kitchen has been torn apart?" she dared to ask, only making Bercan seem to roll his eyes in frustration.

Turning to look at her youngest brother, Hayden maintained her 'peacekeeper' voice as she spoke. "Bercan, go with Garrus and take a breather." Much to everyone's surprise, even him, he only met her gaze for a moment to glare and cross his arms. "Bercan I can sort this out." She insisted, only earning stubborn immobility instead.

"Don't know Shepard, looks like he's too riled to leave. Might want to fess up on this one Ashley." Garrus warned calmly, somehow managing to keep his usual tone of amusement out of his voice so to best calm the situation.

It had worked, if mildly, on Bercan, causing the frustrated ensign to heave a quiet sigh that sounded oddly loud in the quiet of the ship. Still it didn't keep him from watching the soldier in irritation. As if adding to things, Kaidan walked in from someplace to stare at the scene in clear bewilderment, epiphany coming quickly at seeing what Bercan had done. "Oh hell, did someone move Bercan's snacks again?"

This prompted said ensign to begin moving with verve, again waving his arms at the collection of boxes and other containers stacked with almost excessive neatness all over the place. If not for his sibling and friends, Bercan was certain he would've lost his patience by now and not just with his search. Her eyes widening a margin, Hayden turned to once again glare at Ashley. "Dammit Ash, didn't I tell you to put things back from where you got them? I told everybody that for this exact reason! You're lucky he didn't start tearing the cabinet from the wall when we came in. now you can help him put everything back before you help find his snacks."

"All this over some snack? Seems like a bit much." Ashley muttered, dark eyes looking over the collection of dry foods all placed neatly everywhere. She'd seen one of her sister's do the same thing, except in a much less organized away.

Letting out a tired sigh, Hayden calmly spoke just loud enough for the trio to hear, knowing her brother knew what she was talking about. "Bercan always was the neat one of the family. We think Akuze just amplified it. He has to have everything in their proper place or things might fail to make sense. If something's amiss, he reacts a lot like this to try and fix it. Be glad he hasn't dismantled the engines just to find out if a small wire is malfunctioning."

Ashley had stared in mild shock before nodding, regret coming over her face. "Right, that makes sense. I'm sorry skipper, I made this mess…sort of." Stepping past everyone, Ashley smiled at Bercan as she picked up a box or two of cereal. "C'mon, let's find your snack. Now, where does this live?"

Bercan had been surprised but gave in, the pair quickly putting the kitchen cabinets back in order. One his first night on the Normandy, Bercan had systematically gone through all the shelves and the fridge to discover what was inside and what went where. Naturally he'd put everything back as if nothing had been moved but now he had help from a relative stranger. Up until now he'd had little opportunity to even be in the same room with the brunette woman who always kept to the gun table in the cargo bay. A good half hour went by before they had finished, Ashley keeping her word when she finally spotted the box he'd been searching for the whole time…on the highest shelf where'd she'd put it and he'd failed to notice. Managing to hide his self-frustration, Bercan had accepted the box of snack bars from the soldier, quick to reach inside and get out two. Putting the box in its rightful spot, Bercan surprised everybody by handing the second one to Ashley, who stared at him and the proffered food. "What? No, no that's okay, I'm not hungry."

Still he'd held it out to her, his face caught between annoyance and stubbornness. Off to the side, Hayden appeared to trying quite hard not to laugh as Ashley finally took the snack bar from the ensign. When she did, Bercan had turned on his heel and walked away to make up for his lost free time. Behind him, his sister's warm laughter followed but he ignored it, just hearing her say. "Looks like he forgives you but you might have to work a bit harder than this."

"Right." Ashley had said before the door to the lounge had shut behind him, finally cutting off all sound to the rest of the deck. Now, Bercan let his mind get lost in the calculations and readouts to best distract him from the day's events. At the edges of his perception, voices of his fellow engineers spoke idly amongst themselves, Tali's projected voice joining in now and again. In a way it made him smile. He could get used to this place, and the people in it.

Ranleigh blinked when a hand gently gripped his shoulder, making him glance to see Hayden was standing over him. From the look on her face, whatever it was had upset her. "Hey, I didn't wake you did I?"

Shaking his head, Ranleigh sat up, ducking his head so not to hit it against the bunk over his. He only did that when he woke suddenly or was too surprised to be cautious. "No, I was just clearing my head."

"Word is you and Wrex put on quite a display downstairs. Did I miss anything?" Hayden asked with a smile on her face.

Letting a smirk grace his face, Ranleigh shrugged. "Just two guys trying to beat the crap outta each other. What do you need?" he asked, letting his gaze to fall on the datapad in her hand.

Hayden's smile vanished, replaced by a grim expression. "I just got word from Admiral Hackett. Something about Major Kyle."

"Kyle? What's happened?" Ranleigh asked, surprise bleeding through. Last he'd heard, Kyle had been discharged, honorably and with some benefits but little else.

His sister shook her head, her frown firmly in place. "Don't know, only that he's holed himself up with a bunch of biotics over in the Century system. Something about post-traumatic stress from his mission to Torfan... and I thought maybe you'd want to handle it."

"Me? Why?" Ranleigh asked, taken aback at his sibling's words.

"Turns out he's killed two Alliance officers who were sent to talk him down, or at least that's what he thinks happened since it's been a while since he heard from them." Hayden said, worry hinting her voice. "So I said we'd take care of it."

Ranleigh couldn't help but scowl, careful to keep his voice low so not to disturb the sleeping crewmen around them. "That doesn't sound like him. To do such a thing, all because they were sent to talk to him? I don't understand."

"Neither does Alliance command. And since Hackett knew you served together, he asked me to get you to go talk to him instead." Silver grey eyes stared into his rosewood brown with regretful calculation. "Question is, will you do it? I know Torfan really took a hell of a toll on you."

"Just like how the Skyllian Blitz took a toll on you. But I'm not about to abandon him just because he's acting like a nut job." Ranleigh stated, pausing as he went over all he'd been told in his head. After a moment he nodded, his face once again a mask. "I'll lead the mission. How long until we get there?"

"A few hours, I was about to head up to the cockpit after I got your decision." Hayden returned with a sad smile. "Good luck little brother."

"I'll do my best." Ranleigh promised, watching her leave without another word. After a while, he got up to head back down to the cargo bay and the row of lockers. Once there, he pulled out his armor and his guns, inspecting each piece of equipment with faultless precision and concentration. Like his brother, his armor was light but was Hoplite in design and mostly forest green all over, his own Vindicator rifle looking to be in good shape after a month or so collecting dust. As much as he hated to think of it, the fact he might have to kill his former subordinate made Ranleigh uneasy. Sure the man was a civilian now, but it was hard to ignore his past service. If it was possible to talk him down, he would. _If not? Then I might have to kill him, and all who oppose me._ He thought darkly as he mechanically checked the gun and its sister weapon, an older Pinnacle pistol, a different model than his brother's. Continuing his brief inspection of his equipment, Ranleigh moved to again exit the cargo bay, not saying a word as he entered the elevator, intent on getting his hands on as much information as possible.

Normally I'd stretch this out some more but I think now's a good spot as any. Don't worry, the next chapter is a part 2 of sorts. Don't know if it'll be three parts but I'll do my best to stretch things out and move the story line along as best I can. Hope you guys are enjoying this so far! No worries, I'm doing the best I can. Until then:

Next:

Chapter 4: Talk Downs & Bombs…Maybe A Thresher Maw or Two

As Ranleigh and Hayden face the consequences of their actions during their highlight hours of their careers, will Bercan have no choice but to face his greatest failure? Will he be able to stay sane if he does? Find out to see just how badly the past likes to rock the boat in:

_**Chapter 4: Talk Downs & Bombs…Maybe A Thresher Maw or Two!**_


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